It's a Marauder's thing
by AdeleineCR
Summary: Follow the Marauder's and their friends into their 6th year at Hogwarts; where they begin to experience the harsh reality of the emerging menace.
1. Default Chapter

It's a Marauder's Thing  
  
Disclaimer: Hey! So I don't own anything in this fan fiction. Wish I did, but I don't. It all belongs to the genius of J.K. Rowling. sigh  
  
A/N: I just got a new username, since we had to delete our AOL account and re-open it. Naturally, I lost my screen names. So, that means no account for fanfiction.net. So here's my new account! I hate this chapter, by the way. I wasn't pleased with how I wrote this, but this is about the only way I could do it. Next chapter will be better (I hope) and longer! How do I know this? Because I've already written it! Enjoy! Oh yeah, this was previously known as Times Change, People Change, but I decided to change it.  
  
CHAPTER ONE: To Diagon Alley  
  
"Sirius! Wake up!" screeched a voice from downstairs.  
  
A broad-shouldered boy of 16 years groaned as he swung his legs off his bed to face his mother screaming at him once again. He stood up and stretched, yawning widely. He then walked to the mirror attached to his wardrobe and looked at his reflection; he smiled at what he saw. He was what many swooning girls would call tall, dark, and handsome – or rather, sexy. He was indeed tall, very tall, and dark was an understatement. Sirius' hair was pitch black and it hung at just the right spot to where he never had to brush it, his eyes were a very dark brown, where it was often mistaken for black, and his skin was, compared to his family, dark.  
  
He took a last look at himself before slipping a dark grey sweater on and pulling on black pants to head downstairs to the hell he called life.  
  
"What the hell took you so long?" snapped his mother. His mother was the parent he got his dark traits from ... unfortunately, if you asked him.  
  
"Sorry," he snapped back, "I didn't hear you screeching while I was sleeping, surprisingly."  
  
"What did you say to your mother Sirius Black?" his father said behind him dangerously.  
  
"Nothing," Sirius mumbled. He didn't like getting in fights with his dad. He had learned the first time when his father punched him in the face.  
  
"Didn't think so," Mr. Black said, sitting down at the dining room table. "We are going to Diagon Alley today to get your school books; we are meeting your cousins there."  
  
Sirius groaned. Not Narcissa and Bellatrix, he thought. Andromeda wasn't bad -- she was the only sane person, in the family. Sirius was thinking about sending an owl to James when the door the hallway opened and a tiny house-elf walked into the room.  
  
"Mistress Black, here is your tea," said the house-elf. Sirius looked at him with extreme distaste. The house-elf looked back at him and mumbled under his breath, "ungrateful mudblood-lover."  
  
Sirius immediately started walking towards the elf with every intention of killing him when his father got up from the table and stopped him. "Don't you dare young man," he said.  
  
"I swear Kreacher, when you're alone –"Sirius began, but was silenced with a deadly look from his father.  
  
A defeated Sirius sat down at the table when another person walked in that made Sirius' stomach lurch: his younger brother Regulus. Regulus was to be starting at Hogwarts this year, to Sirius' intense dislike. His little brother was the golden boy of the family ever since Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor in his first year. Instead of planning Sirius' life out with haughty satisfaction, they immediately diverted their doting to their younger son, who according to them, was going to be "sorted into Slytherin, marry a Slytherin, and have Slytherin offspring". Sirius would snort into his tea when he heard this, causing his mother to send Sirius to his room. She thought this a punishment for Sirius, when in actuality Sirius would run up to his room and send owls to James.  
  
Sirius' thoughts were again interrupted with his mom swearing for Sirius to  
  
"get his ass to the fireplace" so they could leave. One by one, they each threw their Floo Powder into the fireplace and disappeared to Diagon Alley.  
  
The muffled snoring of another 16 year old boy could be heard. His sheets were tangled around his 5'10 lean body as he tossed and turned, trying to get the sun out of his eyes which was pouring in through his window blinds. He groaned as his attempts remained fruitless and the sun all of a sudden flooded the room as his mother opened the blinds.  
  
"James Potter! Please wake up!"  
  
"I don't wanna! 30 more bloody minutes mum!" he mumbled into his pillow as he turned his back to her.  
  
"Ugh! Jonathon! Your son won't get his lazy butt out of bed! I'm tired of shaking him." said Marie Potter, walking out of James' room. "You take care of it!"  
  
Mr. Potter chuckled to himself as he walked into his 16 year old son' bedroom.  
  
"You just need to know the right things to say, dear," he said as he sat down on the edge of James' bed.  
  
He leant down to whisper in his son's ear, "James, son. Lily Evans is waiting downstairs for you!"  
  
Immediately, James shot out of bed.  
  
"What? She is? Tell her I'll be down in a sec!" he said running around his bedroom, pulling random clothes on. He stopped when he realized his father was laughing merrily on his bed.  
  
"What's so funny?" he asked indignantly. A sudden realization dawned on his face. "You lied to me! Arrrgh!"  
  
Mr. Potter started running from his son's bedroom as James chased after him, yelling some miscellaneous – and rather inappropriate - things. However, they both stopped immediately when they saw Mrs. Potter with a spatula in her hand, tapping her foot impatiently on the wood-floor, glaring up at the pair of them. She rolled her eyes, muttering something that sounded like, "boys".  
  
"Now where is that sister of yours, James? She's even worse than you are in the morning and that's saying something!" Mrs. Potter said impatiently, slamming the spatula down on the counter and running upstairs to find James' twin sister, Devon.  
  
Finally, the four Potters managed to sit down and have a nice breakfast. Oh sure, the food was nice, but the mood's of the twins were anything but nice. Devon was upset that her mother interrupted her morning ritual of listening to a muggle boy band, by the name of The Beatles, while getting ready. While James was furious that his father falsely told him that Lily, the girl he's been head-over-heels in love with since first year, was downstairs waiting for him.  
  
"Alright kids, let's go. Let's try to have a nice afternoon together at Diagon Alley."  
  
The Potters apparated out of their kitchen to Diagon Alley. (A/N: I changed the age limit for apparition to 16 years old ... hope you don't mind!)  
  
"Aunt Martha! Uncle Davis! We need to go soon!" yelled Remus Lupin from downstairs. He wanted to make sure he didn't miss his friends at Diagon Alley. He was a tired looking boy of 16 years – tired, but quite handsome. He had sandy blonde hair which was rather short, and bright, crystal blue eyes. He stood at 5'10, a bit shorter than Sirius, one of his best friends.  
  
"We're coming, Remus dear," said his Aunt Martha, walking down the stairs. Remus has lived with his Aunt and Uncle since 4th year. His parents were killed by Voldemort. His mother, being a muggle was the first to go. His father, being a pureblood, so known as a blood traitor for marrying his muggle mother, was the next to go. It had happened while he was at Hogwarts. His Aunt Martha, his father's sister, and her husband Davis, gladly took him in.  
  
As soon as they were downstairs, they quickly ate their breakfast, and were off to Diagon Alley.  
  
"You are such a bitch!" screamed a girl, banging on the door of the bathroom.  
  
"Takes one to know one, Pet!" another girl yelled from the inside of the bathroom. This just added fuel to the girl's fire, as she started banging on the door even harder. Lily Evans smiled to herself as she sat on the counter, thoroughly enjoying pissing her sister off to no end. She looked into the mirror amidst her sister's jeers and a slight frown formed on her face. Her dark red hair was particularly frizzy today. She ignored this and continued to listen to her sister yelling. Her bright green eyes were dancing with excitement as she listened to her sister.  
  
"Petunia Evans! Stop that this instant!" scolded her mother, Kim Evans.  
  
"But mum! Lily won't let me use the bathroom! She's been in there for 10 minutes!" she yelled.  
  
"Lily! Please hurry up. I'd rather not hear you and your sister screaming at each other this early in the morning," her mother said kindly through the door.  
  
"Yes, mum!" called Lily. No more than 5 seconds later, Lily swept out of the bathroom, giving her sister one of her sweetest smiles.  
  
"What were you DOING in there, freak?" Petunia fumed.  
  
"Waiting to see how long it would take you to lose control. You broke your old record this time, only 10 seconds!" Lily said sweetly, before going into her room and shutting the door.  
  
"Bitch" muttered Petunia as she slammed the bathroom door.  
  
Thirty minutes later, the Evans' were downstairs eating breakfast.  
  
"Petunia, we're going to Diagon Alley with your sister to get her school supplies, want to join us?" asked her father, Tim Evans.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Sure! I'd love to go! Especially since last time one of her friends turned my hair blue!" Petunia yelled, as she stormed from the table.  
  
"I guess that's a no?" Lily smiled to her parents.  
  
This is not beta'd so bear with me. I have chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 written so far, so I'd love if you would review! Reviews make me happy! :o) 


	2. New name!

Hey!  
  
First off, I would like to thank my three reviewers:  
  
Ninde Annare, Nicole Black, and Browneyedgirl2004. Those were much appreciated! :o)  
  
Secondly, I changed the name to my story to "It's a Marauder's Thing"!! The original title didn't concur with where I wanted to go with this fanfic, so the current title seemed best.  
  
Thanks for reading!  
  
Wotchertonks 


	3. Chapter two

It's A Marauder's Thing  
  
Chapter two: From Diagon Alley to Hogwarts  
  
A/N: Hey! OK, so the rest of the chapters will not be like chapter one. That was just to introduce some of the main characters.  
  
Also, I changed James' sister's name to Devon from Aura. And the former Devon is now Ashley. Sorry! You'll see that the changes have been made on chapter one.  
  
Oh yes, once again, this is not beta'd so try to ignore any mistakes. Thanks!  
  
It was two weeks until the Hogwarts Express would be leaving Platform 9 ¾. Witches and wizards were arriving in Diagon Alley every minute to buy their school supplies for the upcoming school year. Friends would meet up and the Marauders were no exception.  
  
"So how'd you get away from those parents of your, mate?" James asked Sirius as they walked down the cobbled path to the apothecary.  
  
"Well, I swiped some gold off my father as soon as we flooed here," Sirius said, smirking. "I can't stand being around my family more than necessary."  
  
"Yeah, I know how you feel," James muttered, remembering what his dad did this morning.  
  
"What are you talking about? You always say how much you love your family," Sirius said, stopping and looking at James.  
  
"Yeah, well, when your father tells you that a certain someone is sitting downstairs waiting for you, just so you get out of bed, and they're not really there, you tend to get a bit pissed," James said sardonically.  
  
Sirius burst out laughing. "Your father ... is ... hilarious!"  
  
"Shove off, Black," James said angrily as he walked off, leaving Sirius laughing manically.  
  
"So who was this 'certain someone'? Oh, wait, I know ... Lily Evans!" Sirius said with a whoop, catching up to James.  
  
"What happened now?" said an amused voice from behind the two Marauders.  
  
"Moony!"  
  
Remus laughed. "Yeah, that's me. So, you going to tell me what's going on?"  
  
To James' extreme annoyance, Sirius relayed all the facts to Remus about James' morning. By the end of it, Remus was smiling serenely at James, a huge grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Oh bugger off you two!" James said.  
  
After Remus eventually cracked and started laughing along with Sirius, the three Marauders walked down to the apothecary, picking up, much to Sirius' dislike, Peter Pettigrew. Peter was a short, stumpy-looking boy of 16. He was always following him, James, and Remus around school; watching their pranks from behind the safety of a concealed tapestry. Sirius never really would warm up to Peter. There was always something strange beneath that nervous, fidgety persona.  
  
"So, Pete, how was your summer?" Remus asked.  
  
"Eh, well, you know," he said, wringing his hands, "nothing really eventful."  
  
The three other boys looked at each other, exchanging significant looks, before continuing to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions to pick up their new robes. Dress robes had been listed among the many things they had to get for 6th year.  
  
Sirius insisted on trying on the Halloween Costumes, which caused an almighty uproar of laughing from the three other Marauder's. Madam Malkin eventually had to tell them off for being too loud. As they walked out of the shop, James initiated one of Sirius' favorite topics: girls.  
  
"So, who have you got your eye on this year, mate?" James asked.  
  
Sirius thought about it. The first girl that popped into his head was James' twin sister: Devon. He had always thought she was beautiful. Not to mention she was an excellent Chaser, just like her brother. Unlike the other girls he's fancied, James' sister liked her share of pranks. But that was it. Sirius always referred to Devon as 'James' sister' or 'hey, James, how's your sister?'. He thought that that had to stop if he wanted to consider having a relationship with her. Sirius could think of many reasons why he really liked Devon, but couldn't bring himself to say them all to James. The likely result of which would be a severe pummeling, courtesy of James. No matter what James said, he was extremely protective over his sister even though she was born 10 minutes before he was, making her the older of the two. This made him laugh.  
  
"What's so funny?" James asked, staring at Sirius.  
  
Sirius mentally kicked himself, before turning to James.  
  
"Nothing, I was just thinking about getting Lily and Devon's best friend Ashley to go out with me," Sirius smirked.  
  
"Ha! Good luck! She's as tough as Lily and Devon are about guys!" Remus said with a laugh.  
  
"Hey Devon?"  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"What do you think James will say once he finds out you've been going out with that Diggory fellow?"  
  
"He'll probably be raving mad. Amos is a year older than me after all!" Devon laughed as she zipped up her dress robes that she was trying on. She walked out of the dressing room to look at herself in the mirror. Her dark brown hair shone in the light, falling lightly on the shimmering baby blue dress robes she had on. To her right, Lily, one of her best friend's came out of the other dressing room. Lily had on green dress robes that accentuated her dark red hair and sparkling green eyes.  
  
"How do I look?" Lily said hesitantly.  
  
"Well, why don't you step in front of the mirror, silly, and find out for yourself?" Devon said, smiling.  
  
"Wow!"  
  
Lily looked in the mirror to see Madam Malkin standing behind her, smiling.  
  
"I just made that dress robe yesterday, dear! There was something telling me I should make a bright green dress robe and here is the reason why!" she said, clapping her hands together, smiling widely, before walking away to tell off some loud boys.  
  
Devon and Lily soon left the store, trying to find Marissa, their fellow Gryffindor 6th year. No sooner had they left the store than the bleach blonde came running up the path, yelling their names.  
  
"Marissa!" squealed Lily, walking up to her and hugging her. "How was your summer?"  
  
"Eh, the usual. The family was horrible," Marissa mumbled.  
  
"Sorry. I know something that will cheer you up: how about you girls spend the rest of summer with me?" Devon asked. "I know it's only 2 weeks, but still, we'd have a great time."  
  
"That sounds like fun!" Marissa said.  
  
"I'd love to –"Lily started.  
  
"-But you have something else to do?" Devon finished.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Lily said, looking down.  
  
"Which means, you don't want to be around James. Am I right?" Devon asked, looking at Lily. She didn't say anything.  
  
"Oh come ON Lily. You don't have to hang around him. Besides, he won't be around much - - He has a Quidditch camp that he's been wanting to go to," Devon said, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Oh alright," Lily said, sighing, wondering what on earth she was getting herself into.  
  
As soon as Lily had gotten home with her parents, she started to pack her trunk to leave that night. She would be apparating for the first time since she took the test a week ago. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were a little worried about watching their younger daughter disappear out of thin air and not knowing where she'd end up.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Lil?" Mrs. Evans said, popping her head into Lily's room.  
  
Lily heaved a heavy sigh and turned to her mother, "Yes, I'll be fine, mum!"  
  
Lily and her father dragged her trunk downstairs so she could apparate from the living room.  
  
"I'll see you at Christmas!" Lily said waving, then disappearing with a tiny pop!  
  
"Ooof!"  
  
Lily stood up to look at her surroundings, wondering where on earth she had apparated to. It was a dark room, with dust floating in the air, and a small ray of light was shining through a crack to her right. Then she realized,  
  
"I apparated in her attic!"  
  
Lily sighed as she pushed the attic door down. She was climbing down the stairs when she lost her footing. Lily fell a good 3 feet onto something soft - - and alive!  
  
"Hey! Geroff!"  
  
Lily jumped up with a quick 'sorry!' to help up who she had landed on. As soon as she dusted herself off, she came face-to-face with James Potter. As always he had that annoyingly cute arrogant look on his face whenever he was around her. She could see a smile playing at his lips when she blushed.  
  
"What were you doing up in our attic, Evans?" he said, looking down at her.  
  
She rolled her eyes, "Not that it matters to you, but I apparated a bit off course."  
  
James smirked as he walked passed her towards what she could only guess was his room. She breathed an enormous growl under her breath as she walked down the hall to find Devon's room. It was usually the one with music blazing loudly.  
  
She knocked on the door, not really expecting Devon to hear. She was about to knock again when the door opened and a very windswept Devon appeared.  
  
"Hullo!" Devon breathed as she stepped aside to let Lily in. "Um, Lil?"  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"Where's your trunk?" she asked.  
  
"What? Oh! It's up in the attic. I accidentally apparated up there," Lily said sheepishly.  
  
"I see," Devon said, suppressing a laugh, "Well, I'll just have Lory get it in a few."  
  
"Lory?"  
  
"Our new house-elf, of course!" Devon said, waving a dismissive hand. "She's really sweet."  
  
After listening to the Beatles for another thirty minutes, the girls made their way downstairs to wait for Marissa, and for dinner to be served. Lily always loved being at the Potter's mansion. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were always exceptionally nice to her and were constantly telling Lily, "maybe you can knock some sense into our boy James here". Marissa arrived shortly and dinner was served. It was marvelous, according to Lily. It was one of the most delicious turkey dinners Lily had ever eaten before.  
  
As Lily, Devon, Marissa, and James spent ore time together, they became closer. Lily had never really warmed up to James before. But now it seemed he had changed; even if only a little. That night, Devon, Lily, and Marissa were talking on Devon's bed.  
  
"It's weird, I've never seen him be this nice before," Lily commented, sipping her hot chocolate.  
  
"It's definitely weird," Devon admitted, "I've never seen my brother open doors for a girl before." Marissa and Lily laughed.  
  
"But then again he's always been head over heels for Lily," Marissa added, sending a pointed look at Lily.  
  
Lily scoffed. "If he's so 'head over heels' for me, then why does he continue to do the thing that he KNOWS irritates me most?"  
  
"What? Torture Snape?" Devon laughed.  
  
"It's not funny, Dev!" Lily said, throwing a pillow at her.  
  
"Okay, okay! I know it's not," Devon agreed. "But in my dear little brother's messed up head, he wants to impress you."  
  
"By doing the thing I hate most? Torturing helpless people?" Lily cried.  
  
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Marissa said, holding up her hands. "Snape isn't exactly the most helpless kid in the world. He's up to his neck in the Dark Arts and you know it Lil."  
  
Lily sighed in surrender. "Okay, fine. But he could do with not attacking him every chance he gets. Oh and being less arrogant."  
  
"Well, you can tell that to my brother tomorrow," Devon sighed. "My original point was: I think James is finally maturing. He's never opened doors for a girl, but he's doing it now for you, Lil. He's also stopped showing off in front of you. Remember all those summers when you came over and James would always play Quidditch in the backyard, just to show off? He doesn't do that anymore."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lily reluctantly agreed. "Stop making me feel like a horrible person."  
  
The next day, a surprise landed on their doorstep: Sirius. He told the girls that he was just staying with them for the rest of the summer. But what they heard that night, changed that excuse. Marissa, Lily, and Devon were walking back down the hall from getting ready for bed when they heard James and Sirius talking.  
  
"You ran away?" James asked incredulously.  
  
"Why not? I can't stand that pureblood family of mine. It's pureblood this and mudblood that. It's torture! I can't spend one day with them without them telling me I'm a blood traitor or that Regulus is their favorite!" Sirius fumed, banging his fist on what the girls suspected to be James' nightstand.  
  
"Well, my parents won't mind you staying with us long-term Padfoot! They've always though you were 'such a nice young-man'," James said, mimicking his mother's high-pitched voice. Both boys laughed as their conversation soon turned to Quidditch.  
  
Lily and Marissa looked sympathetically at Devon as they walked back to her room.  
  
The next morning, everything was in chaos. Everyone had woken up late and now, at 10:30, they were still getting ready. Finally, at 10:50, ten minutes before the train was to leave, they arrived at King's Cross. The girls separated into their own group while the boys went off to find Remus and Peter. Lily, Devon, and Marissa found their own compartment and started to shove their trunks into the overhead storage. Breathing heavily, the girls sat down and waited for the train to depart.  
  
"I'm starving. I wonder when the lady with the trolley is coming?" Devon said, as her stomach growled.  
  
Lily laughed, "When she always does, 15 minutes after the train has left."  
  
Marissa snorted behind her Witch Weekly magazine, while Devon stuck her tongue out at her.  
  
"So how're this things with Amos?" Marissa prodded.  
  
Devon was about to answer her when the compartment door slid open.  
  
"Hey girls!"  
  
They turned to see the Marauder's standing on the threshold of the compartment. James was in the front with Sirius, while Remus and Peter were in the back.  
  
"Come on in," Devon said as she turned back to change their topic of discussion because of the new arrivals.  
  
"So? I mean, you've been going out with him for almost four months!" Marissa said mindlessly, ignoring the 'shut up' looks she was getting from Lily and Devon.  
  
James stopped talking to Sirius and Remus when he heard this.  
  
"Who're you going out with, Dev?" James said suddenly.  
  
"No one," Devon snapped, giving Marissa a very dirty look. Marissa had the decency to blush.  
  
"No, seriously, who?" James said, more earnestly now.  
  
"Oh, fine! Amos Diggory!" she said waspishly, looking out the window. When she did look back, what she saw made her silently laugh. James was sitting with his mouth open, with drool threatening to come out; Remus looked highly amused, as always; Peter looked confused, scratching what little hair he had left (early balding ... hehe); and Sirius, well, Sirius was a bit unreadable. He sat there looking like he was fighting between a look of indifference and a look of disappointment. She shook it off as she turned back to Marissa and Lily.  
  
"How come you didn't tell me?" James said, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Devon sighed, not looking at her brother. "Because I knew this is exactly how you would act! Overprotective ... AS ALWAYS!"  
  
James opened his mouth to say something, when the train stopped, announcing their arrival to Hogwarts. Devon quickly jumped out of her seat and walked out of the compartment, with Lily and Marissa not far behind.  
  
"Honestly, I knew something was going on between them," James said, trying to convince himself that he knew this all along.  
  
Sirius snapped out of his trance as he heard this, laughing his bark-like laugh, "No, you didn't. If you knew about them, you would've tried to beat him up as soon as word was breathed to you. And I stress the word: tried!"  
  
A/N: Sooo ... That's my second chapter! It's pretty long, compared to what I'm used to writing. So, how was it? Good? Bad? Absolutely horrible? Review! Constructive criticism is always welcome! :o) I'll try to have the third chapter out within the next week. I have to watch my little brother during the summer, so my hands are full at the moment! 


	4. Chapter three

It's A Marauder's Thing  
  
Disclaimer: You know the deal. I don't own anything in this. What more do you want?  
  
Lyrics from Britney Spear's "Everytime". I know it doesn't come out for another twenty something years from when they're in school. Oh well, I made it work.  
  
Also, thanks to Ninde Annare for your review!

Chapter Three: Bloody hell!  
  
As the horseless carriages pulled to a sudden halt outside of Hogwarts, second years and above clambered out noisily, walking into the warm and inviting castle. Almost everyone was glad to be back, except fifth and seventh years of course. They would be taking their ever-so-important exams this year. Sixth years, having completed their O.W.L.s the previous year, were comparing their scores with other sixth years at their respective tables.  
  
"So, Evans, what'd you get on your O.W.L.'s?" James asked, stuffing potatoes into his mouth.  
  
Lily cast a look of disgust his way before saying slowly, "Well, I got Outstanding on Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Herbology. Then I got Exceeds Expectations on Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Astronomy."  
  
James nodded his head, while continuing to shovel his food into his mouth.  
  
"What about you, Potter?" Lily asked, careful not to look at him while he was eating.  
  
"Well -" James started, but was interrupted by Lily.  
  
"Potter, once you're done with that mouthful, okay?"  
  
James shook his head, swallowing his food, before beginning again. "Well, I got Outstanding on Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Potions. Exceeds Expectations on Charms and Acceptable on Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy."  
  
Everyone shared their O.W.L.'s results, with Peter being at the low end, unsurprisingly. Once all the food and desserts disappeared, Professor Dumbledore stood up and dismissed everyone to their common rooms. However, James was held back by Professor McGonagall. As Lily, Devon, and Marissa climbed into their four-poster beds, Adeleine O'Connor and Ashley Murray walked into the room.  
  
"Hey Lil!" Adeleine said, walking over to her and giving her a hug. Ashley followed suit before changing into her pajamas.  
  
Adeleine and Ashley were also Lily's best friends. They had been close friends ever since their first year. Adeleine was a muggleborn, just like Lily, so they immediately clicked on the train. Ashley was half-blood, her dad being a wizard and her mother being a muggle. Devon and Marissa were both born into very prominent pure-blood families. However, just like Sirius, Marissa was an outcast in her family. Marissa was a Malfoy, Lucius' younger sister. But she was nothing like the Malfoy's.  
  
"So, how was your summer?" Ashley asked.  
  
"Mine was horrible, as usual, until I stayed at Devon's," Marissa said, putting her hair up in a ponytail. Everyone looked at her sympathetically. "Oh stop it!" she said smiling, noticing their faces, "Tell me about yours!"  
  
"I went to Paris over the summer," Adeleine said, blushing.  
  
"Too bad you didn't have 'ole Remus there with you, eh?" Devon teased, making Adeleine throw a pillow at her, blushing even more.  
  
"Oh shut up!" she said, "He doesn't like me like that anyway!"  
  
"Who are you kidding, Addy?" Marissa piped in. "Don't you notice how shy he gets around you?"  
  
Addy just sat there, ignoring Marissa, looking expectantly at Ashley. Noticing this, Ashley spoke up.  
  
"Well, since we went on a magical trip last summer, it was my mom's turn to have her kind of trip. So we went to New York City."  
  
All the girls squealed wanting to know more.  
  
"America isn't all that bad. But they talk so weird!" Ashley said, laughing.  
  
Lily and Devon both told everyone about their summer, before turning in for the night.  
  
Lily voiced what everyone was thinking, "It's great to be back!" The next morning, everyone was woken up by Marissa's horrible singing in the shower.  
  
"At night I pray, that soon your face will fade away ... And every time I try to fly I fall without my wings, I feel so small, I guess I need you baby!"  
  
Lily groaned, plunging her head underneath her pillow, attempting to block out the noise.  
  
"It doesn't sound too far away from the original," Devon mumbled before turning over in her bed.  
  
"Who's next?" Marissa sang, coming out of the bathroom.  
  
"I'll go next if I don't have to listen to you sing," Devon said groggily, climbing out of bed.  
  
Marissa looked at her in mock hurt, as she towel-dried her hair. After about an hour and a half, the five Gryffindors were walking down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They walked in to see James talking excitedly to the Marauder's in a loud voice.  
  
"Can you believe it? That's bloody brilliant!" James said, grinning widely.  
  
"What's so 'bloody brilliant' little brother?" Devon said, helping herself to some bacon.  
  
"Professor McGonagall informed me yesterday after the feast that I am the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain!" James said, looking expectantly to see what Devon's reaction would be.  
  
"Bloody hell! Does McGonagall want to torture us this year?" she said, slamming her fork down.  
  
James smiled as he continued to eat his breakfast.  
  
"So, Mar, how was your family this summer?" Sirius asked, looking thoughtfully down the table at Marissa.  
  
She looked darkly at him before answering.  
  
"Well, in one word: terrible," she said, picking at her food.  
  
"Yeah, same here," he said, turning back to his food. Sirius and Marissa always had a certain understanding of each other's problems - - both being outcasts in their families for being sorted into Gryffindor. Their mentality on life completely changed once they were sorted into Gryffindor. Both the Malfoy's and the Black's hated anything to do with muggles. Once the Malfoy's found out that their darling child Marissa was sorted into the 'mudblood-loving Gryffindor house', they turned their back on her - - just like Sirius' family.  
  
Soon, Professor McGonagall was coming towards them with new schedules, everyone groaned when they saw this.  
  
"Sixth year schedules," she said crisply, handing each to their respective owner.  
  
"Bloody hell, double potions with the Slytherins, first thing!" Devon exclaimed loudly, earning her a reproving look from Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Same," everyone chorused, with the exception of Peter.  
  
"I have Herbology first," he said gloomily. Peter had gotten an Acceptable on his Potion's O.W.L. Professor Davis wanted no less than an Exceeds Expectation in order to be in his N.E.W.T. Potion's class.  
  
As everyone looked over their schedules, the bell rang, signaling the start of their first class. The Gryffindor sixth years head down to the dungeons immediately, not wanting to be late. However, on the way, they were stopped by some Slytherin 7th years. Among them was Lucius, Marissa's older brother, and to Sirius' disgust, his brother, Regulus. Peter squeaked from behind Sirius and James.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said sardonically, scanning the group.  
  
"Oh shove off, Malfoy!" James said, attempting to pass him.  
  
"Manners, Potter! I'm Head Boy if you haven't noticed!" he said, smirking at him.  
  
"Yeah, well, no one ever said Dumbledore made the best decisions all the time," James snapped, glaring at him.  
  
Lucius narrowed his eyes at James. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter, for you foul mouth!"  
  
The Gryffindors stared at him in outrage. Marissa stepped forward, "Get out of the way, Lucius!"  
  
"Well, if it isn't my little sister?" he said smartly, "You know, mother and father aren't really pleased with you leaving the house unannounced two weeks ago."  
  
Marissa scoffed at him, "Like they would care what happened to me! The only reason they aren't happy with me leaving is because they didn't have a choice in the matter, now did they? As far as I'm concerned, they have no power over me anymore." With that, Marissa beckoned everyone to follow her around the group of Slytherins towards the dungeons. Lucius stood there glaring daggers at the Gryffindors, daring them to smart off to him again.  
  
"You're late! Sit down!" snapped the potions master, Professor Davis, as the Gryffindors came in.  
  
Lily, Devon, Ashley, Marissa, and Addy sat in front of the Marauder's, two rows from the back.  
  
"As I was saying," Professor Davis said, casting a quick glance at the late Gryffindors, "as you all know, in your seventh year, you will be taking your N.E.W.T.'s. I have two years to get you all prepared for these tests. Judging by the results of your tests, I have no doubt that this whole class will get less than an Exceeds Expectations on their N.E.W.T. test next year. Now, today's assignment will be to copy the notes about the Polyjuice Potion off of the board. This is NOT the time for messing around." Professor Davis flicked his wand and the notes showed up on the board. "Get started!"  
  
Two hours and many hand cramps later, Lily and her friends made their way to lunch before heading to double Herbology.  
  
"Bloody hell! What was he playing at? Giving us hand cramps like that!" Devon fumed, rubbing her hand feverishly.  
  
Lily and Marissa nodded in agreement, sitting down to eat a quick lunch. The girls were soon joined by the Marauder's.  
  
"Hey guys!" Devon said, looking up. James, Sirius, and Remus sat down exhaustedly each reaching for the nearest plate of food.  
  
Addy looked up from her plate of food and stole a quick glance at Remus before looking back at her plate. Sirius noticed this, and coughed slightly into his food.  
  
Remus glanced at him, "What?"  
  
Sirius smiled, "nothing Moony."  
  
"Moony?" Addy asked, curiously.  
  
Remus silently kicked Sirius under the table.  
  
"What? Oh, it's nothing, just some nicknames we came up with for each other," Sirius said, not quite meeting her eye.  
  
Addy looked curiously at Remus. He smiled at her before returning to his plate. Addy blushed crimson before turning to Lily and initiating a conversation about the long essay Professor Davis assigned them that morning.  
  
They all got up from the table to head over to the greenhouses for their N.E.W.T.'s Herbology class. Lily was talking excitedly to Devon about it.  
  
"This is one of the most important classes I need in order to be a healer. Of course every class I'm taking this year is really important, but this class is one of the main courses they are looking at!" she said, almost bursting at the seams. Devon rolled her eyes as they walked across the lawn.  
  
"So are you still planning on being an Auror?" Lily asked her.  
  
"Of course! Everything else seems so boring," Devon commented. Noticing the affronted look Lily had plastered on her face, she quickly backtracked. "I meant that none of them would fit my interests. You would be a great healer; you have the patience and skill for that."  
  
Behind her, Sirius, James, and Remus were snickering at her.  
  
Quick to change the subject, Marissa joined in and initiated the popular topic of Quidditch.  
  
"So, what do you think are Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch cup again this year?" Marissa said. Marissa had been the seeker on the team since third year.  
  
James immediately dove into the conversation. "Well, I have to hold try- outs within the next week for another chaser, beater, and keeper. It's going to be hard matching the team we had last year. We were unbeatable."  
  
"Yeah. But I don't think anyone could match Lindsay Cooper as Keeper!" Sirius said, disappointedly.  
  
"We'll see," James said, shaking his head. The 6th years trudged their way back up the lawn to the castle for a bit of free time before their next class. They all plopped down underneath the tree by the lake. They were laughing so hard about their Herbology lesson that they didn't notice what was going on by the lake.  
  
"Come on, Snape, do it!" yelled a boy.  
  
"Yeah!" a group yelled.  
  
"What the -?" Lily said, standing up to look.  
  
A huge group was standing around the greasy-haired 6th year, egging him on to do something.  
  
"Come on, Snape! Three galleons!" yelled the same boy.  
  
Lily pushed her way through the crowd leaving her oblivious friends behind. What she saw made her stomach clench.  
  
A bucking broomstick was in mid-air. People were yelling at Snape to get on it.  
  
"Stay on for 15 seconds for three galleons, Snape!"  
  
Lily was about to yell for everyone to stop when Snape jumped onto the broomstick! His body was being flung around as the broom lurched this way and that! 5 seconds later he was thrown ten feet from the broom. The crowd roared with laughter as he tried to get up, but was too dizzy and bruised. Lily flushed with anger as she saw the group laughing at what he did. She pushed her way farther into the circle, yelling for people to get out of her way.  
  
Lily ran over to him to see if he was alright. She turned him over to find him unconscious.  
  
"What the hell were you playing at?" she screamed, causing everyone to cease laughing. Some were looking down at their shoes, blushing from shame. Others were standing there with a look of savage satisfaction. Devon and Marissa pushed people out of their way as they ran over to Lily.  
  
"Oh my God. Lil, look!" Devon said horrified, pointing to his head. There was a trickle of blood running down his cheek, near his temple.  
  
Lily looked to Devon and whispered in her ear, "Get Professor McGonagall and Professor Davis here, now!" Devon quickly ran up the lawn and out of site. Lily and Marissa kneeled beside Snape making sure he was still breathing when she heard the two Professors running towards them. The group tried to quickly disperse, when they saw the two teachers, but Professor McGonagall halted them with a quick and dangerous "stay!"  
  
"What happened, Miss Evans?" McGonagall urged.  
  
Lily quickly told her what she saw and pointed to the boy who she heard yelling at Snape. He looked absolutely terrified when Lily pointed him out and tried to run away, but Devon grabbed his collar saying, "you're not going anywhere, Davies!"  
  
That night in the common room, James posted the sign for Quidditch Tryouts. James had been in a particularly good mood since the events of this afternoon. He of course had quickly found out what happened this afternoon and burst out laughing. That is until Lily slapped him and called him an 'inconsiderate toerag'.  
  
The next day, Lily walked with Marissa, Devon, and Ashley to Care of Magical Creatures (Addy decided not to take it). They had with Slytherins and Ravenclaws this year, which made it even worse.  
  
"A Unicorn!" exclaimed Professor Kettleburn. "This one that I found is especially beautiful. He just changed from his gold color to the snow white color a month ago, so naturally he still has some of the gold specks in his coat! Boys stand back, please!"  
  
The girls stood in awe of the beautiful creature standing proudly before them.  
  
"Anyone want to go up to it?" Professor Kettleburn asked.  
  
Devon was the only one who wanted to risk walking within gorging distance of its long horn. She held her hand out cautiously to its nose, while walking slowly, to let it know it wasn't in any danger. Devon softly touched its nose and moved her hand to its long and regal neck. It nuzzled her cheek as she stroked the unicorn's soft glimmering coat. She looked back at Professor Kettleburn smiling, to see him staring back at her, looking deeply impressed.  
  
"Excellent work Miss Potter! Excellent! I have never seen this particular male unicorn let a human get that close to him! Ten points to Gryffindor!" he said clapping his hands together, like mad.  
  
Devon glanced from her friends to the unicorn. "Hey, girls! I think he'll let you touch him!" Devon said to her friends.  
  
"Wow! That was the best lesson I have ever had in that class!" Lily gushed to the others, as they entered the Gryffindor Common room.  
  
"Yeah! It was great!" Addy chimed in.  
  
Devon sat thinking about today's lesson. She had of course known everything Professor Kettleburn had told them about unicorns. Devon learned all of this information in her second, third and fourth year with her brother and the rest of the Marauder's. After all, it was necessary to become her animagi form: a unicorn.

Long, yes, I know. Oh well, I like writing long chapters. It gives me a chance to include more, obviously. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Ah, yes, if you could please review? That'd be super! lol, Like my choice of grammar there? shakes head nevermind!


	5. Chapter four

It's a Marauder's Thing  
  
Oooo, double update! :o) Hope you like this chapter! :o)  
  
Chapter four: Preparation for Halloween  
  
The weekend quickly came at Hogwarts and with it: Quidditch Try-outs. The Quidditch season would be starting in 2 months with Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw. Devon pointed this out to James after the try-outs that weekend, when he was scheduling practices 4 times a week.  
  
"I know we aren't the first game, but we have to be prepared!" he said, for the fifth time. The whole team had complained to him when he gave them their practice times.  
  
Since the beginning of the year, the school had been oddly quiet, with the exception of Peeves of course. But the Marauders had not done one of their pranks since the end of last year. Devon mentioned this to James at breakfast on Sunday.  
  
"We know. We figured it would give people a false sense of security! And it has," he said proudly.  
  
"Well, you have to let me in on at least one this year," she said smartly, looking at him.  
  
James sighed. "Yeah, I guess."  
  
At dinner one night, Dumbledore stood up at the end of the feast and called everyone's attention to him.  
  
"Before you all are off to bed, I have some exciting news to tell you!" he said, his electric blue eyes twinkling. "We are having three balls this year!"  
  
Everyone turned to each other and started murmuring excitedly.  
  
"Excuse me!" Dumbledore shouted, calling everyone's attention to him again, "as I said, we will have three balls this year. This would explain why I had on your supplies list 'dress robes'. One will be held on Halloween, so I expect everyone to go to Hogsmeade to get your costume. The second will be a Christmas Ball and the third will be an end of the year ball. Now, the restrictions will be as follows: third year and above for the Halloween and Christmas Ball. For the end of the year ball, everyone is invited." Loud exclamations were heard from first and second years. "While there are age restrictions, that does not mean a third year cannot invite a second year or a first year. For more information, please see a prefect. Thank you and good night!"  
  
The Great Hall was full of talking once again, as everyone got up to go to their dorm.  
  
"Dances, eh?" James said, nudging Sirius.  
  
Sirius smirked. "This is going to be fun."  
  
As the girls were walking up to their dorm, they were talking about the dances.  
  
"So, Lil, who do you want to ask you?" Marissa asked, elbowing her teasingly.  
  
Lily looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I don't know."  
  
Marissa rolled her eyes. "Come on Lil, you know you want James to ask you!"  
  
Lily tripped on one of the steps, saying nervously, "Wh - what?"  
  
"You heard her," Devon said, smirking at her, "You want my dear brother to take you to the dances."  
  
"I most certainly do not!" Lily said, looking highly affronted.  
  
"Okay," Marissa said, unconvinced, while Addy, Ashley, and Devon were snickering behind her.  
  
They changed into their pajamas and got ready for bed before laying down on Lily and Ashley's beds to talk.  
  
"We all know who Addy wants to ask her," Devon said, winking at Addy, making her blush. "But what about Ashley and Marissa?"  
  
"I want Mark Carter to ask me," Ashley said without hesitation. Everyone looked at her.  
  
"What?" she said, "He and I really get along whenever we talk, not to mention his looks rival those of James, Sirius, and Remus."  
  
Devon pretended to throw up over Lily's bed when she heard Ashley call her brother good looking.  
  
"What about you Marissa?" Lily asked.  
  
Marissa blushed, looking down. Marissa knew exactly who she wanted to ask her. But the problem is, he was taken - - by Devon. Yes, Amos Diggory. The very handsome captain and seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, who has been going out with Devon for five months. Marissa wouldn't even dare to say what she was thinking, so she just mumbled a quick "I don't know" before looking at Lily again.  
  
"So Lil? How about it? You want James to ask you?" Devon said, grinning widely.  
  
Lily threw a pillow at Devon.  
  
"Ouch! Man, Lily, you have quite the arm on you!" Devon said, rubbing her cheek.  
  
"Oh, please!" Lily scoffed, "It was a bloody pillow!"  
  
Everyone laughed, when they heard a knock on the door. The door opened to reveal the Marauder's standing at the door. Lily blushed deeply when she saw them standing there, wondering if they had heard Devon talking about her wanting James to ask her to a dance. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind as they walked in. This was no surprise to the girls. The Marauder's had been coming up to their dorm and periodically hanging out with them since third year. They had somehow found the way to get up the girl's staircase without it turning into a slide.  
  
"So! What have you lovely ladies been talking about?" Sirius asked. Sirius had heard what Devon said to Lily about James, but James, who had been too busy trying to get Peter to be quiet, hadn't heard it. Sirius winked at Lily, making her blush even more, if that was possible.  
  
As everyone squashed onto the two girl's beds Sirius whispered in Lily's ear, "I won't tell". She looked at him with round eyes then smiled graciously at him. Lily sat squished between Sirius and Marissa, letting everyone carry on with their conversation. Many thoughts ran through her head.  
  
'Do I want him to ask me to a dance?' she thought to herself. She mentally kicked herself ... hard. 'What are you thinking, Evans? This is Potter! You know, the boy who wouldn't just pull on a girl's pigtails, he would cut them off?' Lily let out a deep sigh, causing Marissa to look at her.  
  
"What is it, Lil?"  
  
"Hm?" she said, looking at Marissa, "Oh, nothing, just thinking."  
  
Marissa winked at her before turning back to Devon.  
  
"I think we have a great Quidditch Team this year," Marissa commented.  
  
"Of course we do! We have two great beaters," Sirius said, emphasizing himself, "we have three unbeatable chasers, a speedy seeker, and a unstoppable keeper. I'd say we're undefeatable."  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement.  
  
"Well ladies, we must be off!" James said, beckoning to the guys to come with him.  
  
"It's only nine o'clock!" Devon said incredulously.  
  
"Oh, well, there's a lot to be done!" James said, waving an impatient hand.  
  
"Toodles!" Sirius said, walking out.  
  
Remus waved to everyone before looking at Addy and smiling. As soon as they left, everyone turned to Addy.  
  
"He's SO into you!" Ashley squealed! Addy bit her lower lip and looked away, willing herself not to blush.  
  
The first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was scheduled for the weekend before the Halloween Ball. All the third years and above were heading to Hogsmeade to buy their costumes.  
  
Many people already had their costumes planned out before the trip. But many more didn't. Devon was of course going with Amos Diggory. Ashley got her wish when Mark Carter asked her the Thursday before Hogsmeade. He wanted to go with her to pick out matching costumes. Addy was dying for Remus to ask her to the Halloween Ball. But it didn't come. So Addy, Lily, and Marissa went to Hogsmeade together to find their costumes.  
  
As soon as they entered Hogsmeade, they went straight to the Three Broomsticks to get a hot mug of Butterbeer. The three girls sat down next to the window and drank deeply from their mugs.  
  
The bell to the door rang as four boys walked in. Addy quickly slopped Butterbeer all down her front when she saw Remus. Her stomach was twisted into so many knots that she couldn't properly swallow her drink. Lily and Marissa watched Addy slop more Butterbeer down her front as Remus walked over to their table.  
  
"Hey Addy! Lily. Marissa." Remus said, nodding to the two other girls.  
  
"Hey Remus," Lily and Marissa said brightly.  
  
Addy sat there smiling stupidly at him. He grinned, looking down.  
  
"Hey, can I talk to you, Addy?" he said, looking up at her. Lily and Marissa noticed he looked positively nervous. They smiled knowingly as Addy nodded and left the table with him.  
  
Remus guided her to an unoccupied table. He pulled out her chair for her to sit then sat down opposite her.  
  
"So, what's up?" he said. Addy noticed his voice shaking a bit.  
  
"Um, not much," she said awkwardly, "Just planning on getting my costume for the ball, you?"  
  
"Same," he said, putting his hands in his lap.  
  
'Probably to wipe the sweat off his hands,' she thought to herself.  
  
"Hey I wanted to know, um, did you want to go to the Halloween Ball with me?" he said, letting the words tumble out of his mouth.  
  
Addy's heart skipped a beat when he asked her.  
  
"Yeah, that'd be great!" she said, smiling.  
  
"Really?" he said, smiling back at her.  
  
"Yes, really!" she said, blushing crimson now.  
  
"That's great!" he said, heaving a huge sigh. "So, did you want to, um, come with me to look at some costumes?"  
  
"Um, sure! I'm sure the girls won't mind," she said. "Be right back." Addy walked over to the girls who were smiling broadly at her.  
  
"Go," Marissa said firmly.  
  
"What?" Addy asked, confused.  
  
"She means go look at costumes with your date," Lily said, beaming at her.  
  
"Really? You won't mind?" Addy asked, nervously.  
  
"Shut up!" Marissa said, smiling at her, "Go with him!"  
  
Addy smiled the biggest smile they had seen on her. "Thanks guys!" And with that, she walked back to Remus, walking with him out the door.  
  
Lily and Marissa burst out laughing once the door had shut.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
They looked up and saw Sirius and James standing there, looking at them with amusement plastered on their faces.  
  
"Remus and Addy!" Lily gasped.  
  
"They're so cute!" Marissa added, still laughing.  
  
James and Sirius laughed.  
  
"May we sit down?" James asked the girls.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead," Lily said, taking a swig from her mug.  
  
They talked for a good 30 minutes before Marissa interrupted.  
  
"Hey, guys, we have to go look at Halloween costumes," She said.  
  
"Oh, yeah, can we come?" Sirius asked.  
  
"What? Oh, yeah, sure!" Lily sputtered, coughing on her Butterbeer.  
  
Sirius paid for their butterbeers and joined everyone outside.  
  
"So? Where to?" Sirius prompted.  
  
"Hmmm. How about that store?" Lily said, pointing to a store with Halloween Costumes on display in the window.  
  
"Sure," James agreed. They followed Lily into the costume store and immediately began picking things out. They all walked into their own dressing rooms, trying on their first costume.  
  
Lily and Marissa heard Sirius let out one of his bark-like laughs from the last dressing room. They all walked out at the same time to see what everyone looked like. Lily, Marissa, and James burst out laughing when they saw Sirius' costume. He had a large flobberworm's costume on, where a circle was cut out at the top where his face would fit.  
  
"What? It was in the kid's section, so I had to enlarge it!" Sirius said, laughing.  
  
"Siri, there's ... a ... reason ... it was in ... the KIDS section," James said through his laughs.  
  
When James and Sirius were through making fun of each other (James had on a strange purple dinosaur's costume on, which Lily was quick to inform him was from a muggle kid's show: Barney. A/N: I know Barney didn't start until the late 80s early 90s, but I'm making it work) they turned to look at the girls. Lily had on an earthy green costume that flowed with the slightest movement she made. The sleeves flowed past her wrists and were cut asymmetrical. The dress was adorned with small silver beads on the bust of the dress. Half of her dark red hair was elegantly tied back, with a silver headdress that flowed over her red hair (Think Arwen's crown at the end of Return of the King).  
  
Marissa on the other hand had on a colonial-type dress that hung off her shoulders. It was tight at the top, pushing up her bosom, and flowed out elegantly from the waist down to the floor. It was crème-colored with darker crème flowers imprinted on the fabric. She had on a hat tied around her neck and a lace fan in her right hand.  
  
Both young women were looking expectantly at the ridiculous-looking boys who were looking at them with wide eyes.  
  
"Um, guys?"  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Sirius, who was the first to come out of the trance said, "What? Oh, yeah, wow, um, you look great!"  
  
James followed suit, "Yeah, what he said."  
  
The girls laughed, telling them to get more normal looking costumes on.  
  
James eventually came out with a three Musketeers costume, complete with the feathered hat. Sirius chose the Zorro-type costume that he had found at the back of the store.  
  
All four paid for their costumes before meeting up with Remus, Addy, Devon, Amos, Ashley and Mark. Peter hadn't come, insisting that 'Halloween balls weren't for him'.  
  
On the way back, Sirius stopped Lily. "Hey, Lil?"  
  
"Mmmhmm?"  
  
"Did you want to go to the ball with me? You know, as friends?"  
  
"Yeah, sure Sirius, just as friends," she said, smiling at him. "But I don't know how good an elf would look with Zorro!"  
  
James, having given Sirius permission to ask Lily to the dance asked Marissa as friends also. Both couples knew this was only as friends, and that's all they wanted to be.  
  
As everyone walked back up to the castle for dinner, Lily shied away from the chatter, thinking how great life was. 


	6. Chapter five

**It's a Marauder's Thing  
**  
_First off, thanks to my ever so faithful reviewers!  
  
Ninde Annare: Thanks so much! I like the title now. I'm glad you like it!  
  
Nicole Black: Yeah, they're going together. But it's not a big deal, they're just friends, nothing will come out of it.  
  
Browneyedgirl2004: Wow! Three reviews in a row! Very cool! Aw, I'm sorry that you can relate! It will work out, don't worry. Hope everything worked out with you! :o)  
  
Oh and Happy late fourth of July! Hope yours went swell! lol  
  
Now! On with the story!  
_  
Chapter five: A Halloween to Remember  
  
The next week was the slowest ever at Hogwarts if you asked any third year or above. No one was paying much attention to the Professors, but to rectify this, every Professor assigned an extensive essay for their students, to be turned in by Friday. Lily, Addy, Remus, and a reluctant Devon took the essays seriously. They finished each essay the night it was assigned, earning a few jealous glances from their fellow Gryffindors Thursday night.  
  
Sirius glared over at his four friends laughing at something, while he was bent over his second out of five essays, and it was already ten o'clock.  
  
"I know, mate," James said, not looking up from his Potions essay, "We should've joined them each night."  
  
Sirius snorted derisively as he went back to work. Four hours later, James, Sirius, Peter, Marissa, and Ashley dragged their feet up to their dorms to go to sleep. They were supposed to have Quidditch practice that night but James canceled it last minute once he realized how 'far up the creek without the bloody paddle' he was.

* * *

Their last class of the week was double transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. As soon as the bell rang, everyone ran out of the classroom, celebrating a weekend of freedom.  
  
"Hey Devon, did you and Amos want to come with us and play a game of Quidditch?" Marissa asked as they were walking down the lawn.  
  
"How about it, Amos?" Devon said, grabbing his hand and lacing her fingers through his.  
  
"Yeah, sure, I'm game. I just have to go up to my dorm and get my broom," he said, giving Devon a kiss on the cheek before running toward the Hufflepuff tower. As soon as he was out of earshot, James and Sirius were coughing underneath their breaths.  
  
"Pretty boy!" coughed Sirius. Devon heard this and slapped him on his arm playfully. Sirius smiled and gave her a playful shove.  
  
"Oh no you don't, Black!" she yelled, running after him.  
  
Lily watched the two wrestle on the grass. She smiled, wondering if Devon ever had this much fun with Amos.  
  
"I know what you're thinking," James said from beside her. Lily started when she realized he was standing next to her.  
  
"They do look like they're having a lot of fun," James admitted.  
  
Lily nodded her head. "I wonder what will happen with her and Amos. I know he doesn't make her laugh like Sirius does."  
  
James looked at Lily, surprised, before looking back at his sister and best friend laughing together. He had always thought Amos was a bit too serious for his sister. Maybe Sirius is just what she needed, he admitted to himself reluctantly.

* * *

That night, Devon went up to her brother's bedroom to hand him some Quidditch plays she had just revised, when she found their dorm to be empty. She wondered why, until she saw that James' invisibility cloak was missing from his open trunk. She looked towards the window to see the full moon pouring into the room. Devon sighed as she walked back downstairs. She had wanted to go with them this time. They rarely ever let her go since fourth year. Her brother had officially grown up then and wasn't as close to her as they were before. Besides, she was getting a bit rusty on her transformations.  
  
When she plopped down beside Marissa on the couch, what she heard made her heart stop.  
  
"I mean, he's gone every month! Where does he go? His mum can't be sick every single month!" Addy was saying. Devon gulped a little loud, making everyone look at her.  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Lily asked her, looking concerned.  
  
"Um, nothing," Devon lied, "I had something in my throat."  
  
Lily looked at her for a second more, before turning back to Addy.  
  
"I think I know where he goes," she whispered, loud enough for the group to hear her. "In fact, I think I've known where the Marauder's go every month."  
  
Devon looked at Lily, her heart beating fast, praying that she didn't know.  
  
"Think about it," Lily began, "He disappears every month. What happens every month?"  
  
Everyone looked puzzled, until, "The full moon!"  
  
Devon looked at Marissa when she said this; alarmed that she picked up on it. She could see that they were figuring things out, so she suggested that they go up to their dorm. They all agreed, but immediately continued once Lily put a silencing charm on their walls and door.  
  
"The full moon. What happens on the full moon?" Lily said, in a loud whisper, adding to the tension.  
  
"Oh, please. Just come out with it, Lil!" Devon said loudly. "Remus is a werewolf, what's the deal with the big intro?"  
  
Lily looked at Devon like she had just slapped her across the face.  
  
"What's your problem?" Lily snapped.  
  
"My problem is you're making a bigger deal out this than necessary!" Devon said coldly. "He's a werewolf, so what? He doesn't hurt anybody that way, does he?"  
  
Everyone looked at Devon, before Marissa voiced their thoughts.  
  
"You knew about this?"  
  
"Of course I did!" Devon said exasperatedly. "I've known since James found out in late first year."  
  
"You never told us?" Ashley said, disbelievingly.  
  
"It wasn't my secret to tell!" Devon shouted. "If you were a werewolf, would you want one of us telling someone else?"  
  
Ashley shook her head, her eyes cast downward. "Sorry," she muttered.  
  
Devon glanced at everyone before sighing. "I'm sorry I yelled and I'm sorry you all don't like that I didn't tell you. But you have to understand, it wasn't my place to say anything." Devon looked at Addy. "Please don't think any different of Remus. He's such a sweet guy. I wish he had gotten the chance to tell you. But please don't mention this to him, just act like you don't know. When he wants to tell you, he will." Addy nodded her head numbly.  
  
"I won't tell anyone," Lily said timidly.  
  
"Neither will I," Marissa said.  
  
"Ditto!" Ashley said.  
  
"Promise?" Devon asked.  
  
"Promise," they all chorused.

* * *

In light of the Halloween Ball, there was an early feast scheduled for the day. This was, according to Melissa Anderson, the Head Girl, supposed to make the first and second years feel included. The feast would start at three o'clock in the afternoon, allowing the other students to be able to have enough time to get ready for the Ball which started at eight.  
  
The Marauder's had not been seen much over the past few days. Suspicion arose among the girls that this was a direct result of them planning their first prank of the year. As they walked down to the feast, they were quickly joined by the Marauder's. Devon knew by the looks on their faces that they had something planned for the feast, so she made a mental note not to eat anything until they had.  
  
Everyone took their seats as Dumbledore stood up to address the Hall.  
  
"Happy Halloween, everyone!" he said. At that exact moment, the dark ceiling exploded with thunder and lightning. Everyone clapped, laughing.  
  
"I'm sure you all will not be disappointed with the Feast prepared for you tonight!" Dumbledore said, confidently. Devon looked to see what the Marauder's reactions would be at these words. James, Sirius, and Remus looked calm and collected, as always. Peter was giggling into his hand, earning him death glares from his three friends. Devon shook her head; he was never one to be discrete.  
  
Dumbledore clapped his hands, making their feast appear before their eyes. Everyone started digging in, when all of a sudden, the hall went quite. Devon looked at her friends. They had their mouths full of food, but looked as if they were going to vomit. Students spit their food out on their plates, murmuring to each other.  
  
"It tastes like sardines!" Ashley exclaimed, looking at her chicken.  
  
"No, it tastes like vomit!" Lily cried, looking at her food with disgust.  
  
Devon bent down and sniffed her food, before pulling a revolted face.  
  
"My mashed potatoes smell like marshmallows!" she said, sudden realization dawning on her face. She looked at the Marauder's, muttering a low, "nice one". Devon guessed that they had snuck into the kitchens the past few nights and made the food taste like Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.  
  
They started cracking up laughing, but were soon stopped by a very angry- looking Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Put it right!" she yelled.  
  
Everyone could tell the Marauder's were having a glorious time watching the Slytherins look pale.  
  
"Put it right, now!" she repeated dangerously.  
  
Sirius sighed in resignation. "Fine." He waved his wand, muttering "finite incantatem".  
  
Devon sniffed her food again, "it's fine now!"  
  
The rest of the feast passed without incident. The Marauder's quickly earned themselves three nights of detentions and thirty points from Gryffindor.  
  
As they were walking back up to their dorms to change for the Ball, Devon was chuckling under her breath, while her friends were absolutely fuming over the prank.

* * *

Three hours later the girls were still cramming in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to get their makeup exactly right. Devon didn't tell anyone what her costume was, saying that 'it's a surprise!' Addy was going as an Indian princess. She had the dark skin and dark hair to pull it off. Addy said that Remus was going in a colonial military costume.  
  
Ashley's costume was a bit risqué. In fact, she was a bit worried that she would get in trouble for wearing it. In order to explain this to her friends, she put it on, causing them to gasp. It was a very slim asymmetrical dress that went from high on her left thigh right down to her right knee. It was one-shouldered and accentuated every single curve she had. She turned around to display iridescent fairy wings. She had glitter all over her arms and legs and had frosty makeup on her eyes and lips. They assured her that she'd get in - she just couldn't flaunt the fact that her dress was a little _too_ sexy.  
  
Once Lily, Ashley, Marissa, and Addy were ready, they waited for Devon to come out of the bathroom.  
  
"Ready?" she called from behind the door.  
  
"YES!" they screamed. The door opened and Devon came out of the bathroom.  
  
Everyone started cracking up laughing when they saw her costume.  
  
"You ... look ... like ... Xena ... the warrior princess!" Lily gasped.  
  
"Exactly!" Devon smiled, taking out her leather whip from her belt.

* * *

It was 7:45 and their dates were bound to be waiting for them down in the common room. As they walked down the steps, they saw the guys standing by the fire, talking excitedly amongst each other. The girls walked up to their respective date (except for Devon; Amos was waiting for her outside of the portrait). Each guy's mouth dropped about two feet from the floor when they saw their dates. They soon left the common room and Devon met Amos outside.  
  
Music was blasting from the Hall as each couple walked down the Grand Staircase towards the Entrance Hall.  
  
Lily was earning herself many glares from jealous girls when they saw who her date was: Sirius. He looked extremely debonair in his Zorro costume, with his cape swishing behind him.  
  
As they walked into the Great Hall, Devon pulled Amos (who was King Arthur) onto the dance floor. Sirius shot a nasty look at Amos before leading Lily to a table with the rest of their group.  
  
It seemed that with Ashley's risqué outfit, her confidence tripled. She dragged Mark onto the dance floor, and started dancing with him like no one has ever seen before.  
  
Lily and Sirius were deep in conversation as Devon dropped heavily in the seat next to Sirius.  
  
"Gosh, it's hot out there," she shouted over the music to them.  
  
Sirius and Lily nodded, laughing at her.  
  
"Hey Siri, want to dance?" Devon asked him. "Is that okay, Lil?"  
  
Lily waved them off, smiling, taking a drink from her butterbeer.  
  
Lily watched them dance, laughing her head off, until their dancing turned dirty. Lily sat there with her mouth hanging open. She wasn't jealous, it was just that she had never seen Devon dance like that, especially never with Sirius. Plus, 'Devon has a boyfriend, so she had better be careful,' Lily thought.  
  
Then she saw what made her heart stop. Amos. He looked absolutely furious. She saw him marching straight over to the dancing couple and start yelling. Devon ran from the dance floor and out of the Great Hall. Sirius ran after her with Amos hot on his trail.  
  
"Oh Gosh," Lily thought.

* * *

"Devon! Devon! Wait!" Sirius yelled, running after her. She stopped with tears streaking down her face. Sirius caught up with her and turned her towards him.  
  
"Devon, look," Sirius started, but was cut of as he was punched in the face.  
  
Devon screamed as Sirius stumbled, clutching his mouth as blood trickled down. Amos came towards him again and punched him in the stomach, making Sirius gasp for air as he fell to his knees.  
  
"STOP IT!" Devon yelled as she ran in between Amos and Sirius.  
  
"What the hell were you two doing?" Amos yelled at Devon. "How long has this been going on?"  
  
"What?" Devon breathed.  
  
"How long have you two been seeing each other?" Amos demanded.  
  
Devon stood there, flabbergasted. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she managed to say.  
  
"I saw you two dancing like that!" Diggory shouted at her, his face only inches from hers.  
  
Devon started crying. "I'd never cheat on you, Amos! NEVER! How DARE you accuse me of doing that!"  
  
"How dare me?" he said dangerously. "How dare you! You were dancing with him like-like ..." he trailed off.  
  
"Like what, Amos?" Devon asked, her voice shaking with fury. "LIKE WHAT? Like YOU were dancing with Melissa Anderson?" He didn't say anything. He looked at Sirius, who got up from the floor and walked straight over to him, punching Amos in the face. Amos tripped and fell on his back, looking up at Sirius.  
  
"How dare you accuse her of cheating on you!" Sirius bellowed. "Especially since you were doing the same exact thing to her in there. What is this, a one-sided relationship? You can do whatever you want, but she can't? Leave her alone!"  
  
Amos glanced at Devon who was looking down at him, her expression a mix of defiance and disappointment.  
  
"I'm not going to say sorry for what I did tonight," Devon said defiantly. "I saw you doing the same thing, so don't even try to deny it. I'm sick and tired of you second-guessing my faithfulness to you. I've had to deal with it all summer. We're done." She got up from the floor, wiped her face with the back of her hand and walked silently away from the two boys.

* * *

Okay, I know I ended their relationship without getting y'all used to them being together. But it fit with the dance and everything. So, I'm sorry if you don't like it. Flames are always welcome. lol ... But please review! 


	7. Chapter six

Ninde Annare: Thanks so much for always reviewing. Here's a bit of Lily and James. :o)  
  
Browneyedgirl2004: Another faithful reviewer! I feel so special! Yes, I continued with L/J fluff ... just a little bit though.  
  
Enjoy!!

* * *

Chapter six: Problems solved  
  
Lily sighed as she scanned the room, looking for some of her friends. She was worried about Devon. Devon had repeatedly told Lily that Amos didn't trust her. He had even accused her of cheating on him with Sirius a few times. So Lily was wondering 'why on earth was Dev dancing with Sirius like that if her relationship with Amos was rocky already?' Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp poke in her right arm. She turned to tell the person off when she saw James. He was smiling at her.  
  
"Want to dance?" he asked.  
  
"What about Marissa?" she yelled, over the music.  
  
"She's dancing with someone else right now," he yelled back, surprised his voice hasn't given up with all the yelling he's been doing.  
  
Lily smiled, taking his hand as he led her onto the dance floor. As soon as they walked on, a slow song started, making Lily's stomach twist into a million knots. She had half a mind to pull away, but she let James' strong arms pull her gracefully into his arms. Lily relaxed as his hands settled on the small of her back. She awkwardly put her arms around his neck as they swayed to the music.  
  
"So have you been enjoying yourself, Evans?" James asked as the music played softly.  
  
"Yes, actually, I have," she said, wondering if she should tell James about Devon right now. Deciding to wait a few minutes, she looked up at him.  
  
"What about you, Potter?" she asked, smiling softly.  
  
James stared into Lily's glittering eyes, smiling. He wanted so desperately for them to stop calling each other by their surnames.  
  
"I've been enjoying myself, Lily," he said, glad to call her by her first name. She did the smallest of double takes when James called her by her first name. She sighed, remembering Devon suddenly.  
  
"I'm worried about Dev," she admitted, checking his reaction.  
  
"Dev? What's wrong with her?" he asked seriously.  
  
"She was dancing with Sirius. Like, REALLY dancing with him," she said, emphasizing the 'really'. James nodded, waiting for more.  
  
"And Amos came up to them and started shouting at them," Lily said, worry coursing through her voice. "Devon ran out of the Hall crying, and they followed her. That's the last I saw of her." Lily watched his face change from worry to anger.  
  
"I have to find her," James said. Lily dropped her arms and led him off the dance floor, looking for Devon. As they searched the crowd, Lily felt the smallest of squirms in her stomach. Was it disappointment? She shook it off as Devon had just walked into the Hall and was coming straight for them, her eyes red and puffy.  
  
"Dev!" Lily and James yelled, running up to her.  
  
"You okay?" Lily asked, hugging her.  
  
"Y-yes, I'm f-fine," she said, stuttering.  
  
"Who did this to you, Dev?" James asked from over Lily's shoulder.  
  
"No one, James. Just please, leave it alone," Devon said, noticing the fury in voice.  
  
He was about to answer her, when his eyes caught on something above her head. She turned around and saw Amos walking into the Hall. James growled and walked passed the two girls and toward Amos.  
  
"Oh no," Devon whispered, miserably.  
  
She saw them yelling at each other before James raised his fist to punch him. But Sirius ran up behind him and caught his arm, muttering something in his ear. Amos smirked and walked away into the crowd. James jerked his arm away from Sirius and stormed back to the girls, who in the meantime had been joined by Marissa, Addy, and Remus.  
  
Lily told Marissa to go find Ashley and Mark and to meet them out in the Entrance Hall. They all walked out and James immediately started bombarding Devon with questions.  
  
"What'd he do?" he asked, grabbing her arm.  
  
"Let go, James!" she said, ripping her arm away from his grasp. "I took care of it, just please leave it alone!"  
  
"I can't," James said earnestly, "not when some jealous asshole has been a jerk to you for no reason."  
  
Devon sighed in resignation as she swayed back and forth. "I'm tired. I want to go back to the common room." Lily nodded in agreement, linking her arm with Devon's. She turned back to Sirius, "thanks for taking me tonight, Siri." He forced a smile, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "you're welcome, Lil."  
  
Addy, Marissa, and Ashley made to follow them but Devon stopped them, "go back and have fun. I'm fine. Really," she reassured them. Devon turned back to Lily and walked up the staircase towards the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

Everyone in Gryffindor Tower slept in the next morning. Most didn't come back from the Ball until 1 o'clock in the morning. It was noon when their shades opened to allow the sun to pour in, illuminating every corner in the girl's dormitory.  
  
"Get up!" someone sang.  
  
"Oh God. Not this early, Marissa!" Devon moaned into her pillow.  
  
"Wha-?" Marissa mumbled from behind her curtains. "What are y-you t-talking about?" she finished, stifling a huge yawn.  
  
"You mean someone is a worse singer than you?" Devon said, still half asleep.  
  
"Devvy! Devvy poo! Wake uuup!" that same person sang.  
  
"Oh no," Devon murmured, recognizing the voice instantly: it was Sirius.  
  
"Oh yes!" he said happily, jumping on her bed.  
  
"Go 'way!" she whined.  
  
"Can't go 'way!" he said, mimicking her baby voice. "Have to wake wee little Devvy up."  
  
By this time, the whole dorm was awake and watching Sirius intently, seeing if he could wake Devon up unscathed. Sirius started poking Devon in her side and arms, making her growl with frustration.  
  
"BLACK!" she screamed, finally giving up and jumping on top of him, beating him with her pillow.  
  
Everyone was laughing as James, Remus, and Peter walked into the room.  
  
"Whoa!" James said, watching his sister beat up Sirius. James was marveled at the fact that Devon seemed to get over Diggory so quickly. He watched Devon screaming at Sirius, whilst Sirius put his hands up as if he was giving up.  
  
"Okay! Okay! I give up! I surrender!" he yelled, his voice muffled behind the pillow.  
  
Devon smirked as she got up and got underneath her sheets again.  
  
"Dev?" James said wearily, holding a pillow to shield himself from the oncoming attack.  
  
"What?" she mumbled grumpily, her eyes closed.  
  
"Look out," he warned.  
  
"Look out? Look out for-"she stopped as three pillows started beating her head and body.  
  
"Sirius Black!" she screamed, covering her head.  
  
He was laughing merrily as Lily was standing next to him, commanding the charmed pillows with her wand.  
  
"It's not me, Dev," he said, through laughs.  
  
"LILY!"

* * *

As they had missed breakfast, everyone was anxious to eat lunch. As they were stuffing their faces, Remus looked around the table, noticing someone's absence.  
  
"Where's Lily?"  
  
Devon smirked into her pumpkin juice. "Let's just say she's in a sticky predicament."  
  
Back up in the girls' 6th year dormitory, Lily Evans was in the process of trying to wash off all the syrup Devon had splattered on her in retaliation for the pillow attack.  
  
Forty-five minutes later, Lily made her way down to the Great Hall to make sure she got something to eat. She walked in to see everyone getting up, already finished. "Bloody hell," she muttered in disbelief.  
  
"Sorry, Lil!" Devon sang, walking passed her. Lily smirked as she turned around and poured some excess syrup on Devon's hair. Devon screamed as she felt the syrup slowly creep down her hair.  
  
The Marauder's were bent over, holding their stomachs, as Devon glared daggers at Lily. Lily squeaked as she ran from the Hall, with Devon running after her.

* * *

The following Friday was the first Quidditch game of the season: Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw. James had insisted that the whole Gryffindor team attend, so that they could see some of their rival's tactics. Marissa had put up a fight, wanting to spend time with Mark, who had asked her out at the Halloween Ball. That Friday, Devon, James, Sirius, a reluctant Marissa, and the three new team members sat together watching the game.  
  
"Slytherin has an excellent Seeker, so you need to keep an eye on her, Marissa!" James told her. Marissa rolled her eyes as she watched the Slytherin Seeker, Leila Zabini, dodge an oncoming bludger.  
  
"Ravenclaw has unbeatable beaters," Sirius coughed at this loudly, "so they are able to stop the majority of the Slytherin Chasers," James said, keeping his eyes intently on the game.  
  
"She's seen the snitch!" called the announcer.  
  
Marissa stood up to watch Zabini dive toward the glittering snitch at the corner of the pitch. She gulped as Zabini rose out of the dive with the snitch in her hand. But the Slytherins weren't cheering, the Ravenclaws were.  
  
"And the Ravenclaws win 250-170!"  
  
Marissa looked disbelievingly at Leila, wondering why she caught the snitch.  
  
"She knew their Chasers weren't getting anywhere," James explained as they walked back up to the castle. "This is good, Slytherin lost, so they're going to have to make up for lost ground."  
  
Marissa knew she wasn't as good a seeker as Leila Zabini, so she hoped that their strength: the chasers and beaters would be able to pull what Ravenclaw did today.  
  
Devon stood in the Gryffindor locker room, putting on her Quidditch robes. She noticed Marissa fumbling with her shin guards.  
  
"Marissa, you okay?" Devon asked as she knelt down to help her friend.  
  
"Y-yes, I'm fine," she muttered, wiping her sweaty hands on her pants.  
  
"Look, Marissa, you'll be okay. You've gotten the snitch every time we play Slytherin. You have nothing to worry about," Devon said softly, taking Marissa's hand in hers and giving it a soft and reassuring squeeze.  
  
"You girls ready?" James said from behind Marissa.  
  
"Yeah, just calming Marissa down a bit," Devon explained.  
  
"Mar? You okay?" James asked, sitting next to her.  
  
"I'm fine. Just a little nervous after seeing that Zabini girl in action a few weeks ago," Marissa sighed.  
  
James looked concerned. "Hey," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders, "You have nothing to worry about. Just keep an eye on her. You'll do great!"  
  
Marissa smiled gratefully at him, grabbing her broom.  
  
"And here come the Gryffindors!" said the commentator, Jessie Lewis. "Captain and chaser James Potter, followed by, Potter, Carigan, Black, Jackson, Malfoy, Langley."  
  
The majority of the crowd roared with approval as the Gryffindor team flew onto the pitch.  
  
Meanwhile, down in the crowd, Lily, Addy, Ashley, Remus, and Mark were looking worriedly up at Marissa.  
  
"She was telling me how scared she was last night," Lily said.  
  
"She'll be fine, she's never failed us," Mark said assuredly.  
  
"The quaffle is released!"  
  
Devon immediately caught the quaffle, zooming up the field toward the Slytherin keeper, Kevin Bletchley. She threw to the left goal post and scored.  
  
"Devon Potter scores! Ten points to Gryffindor!"  
  
Bletchley passed the quaffle to Lucius Malfoy as he streaked up the field toward the new Keeper Jessica Langley. As he prepared to throw, a bludger, courtesy of Sirius, knocked the quaffle out of his hand.  
  
James flew underneath and caught the quaffle with ease. He flew up the field, dodging the two bludgers. Seeing one coming right towards him, he dropped the quaffle underneath him to Matthew Carigan, who successfully threw it into the center goal post.  
  
"Ten more points to Gryffindor!"  
  
After thirty more minutes, Gryffindor and Slytherin were neck-in-neck. 60- 60. Marissa was getting desperate, as she watched Leila look around for the snitch.  
  
As she tugged her eyes away from Leila, Marissa saw the snitch hovering right in the middle of the field. Marissa locked eyes with Leila, knowing she had seen it too.  
  
She shot off, towards the snitch. She saw Leila getting closer and closer to it. Leila had a faster broom than she did, so she was going to get there faster.  
  
"Look at that! Both seekers have seen the snitch!"  
  
The snitch was getting closer and closer and she lowered her body completely on her broom, urging it to push its limits. She stretched out her hand, centimeters away from the snitch, as a bludger came toward her head. Marissa didn't care. She willed herself to inch closer, as the bludger came in contact with her head, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

"Is she okay?"  
  
"Of course she isn't, idiot! She got hit in the head with a bludger! How good would you be feeling right now?" snapped a blurring figure as Marissa opened her eyes.  
  
"Look! She's awake!"  
  
Marissa groaned as she tried to sit up to no avail. Her vision became clear as she saw her friends all around her, looking happy and relieved.  
  
"My head is killing me!" Marissa growled.  
  
"You got hit in the head with a bludger," Sirius explained stupidly.  
  
"No crap Sherlock!" she snapped. Sirius smiled sheepishly.  
  
"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked.  
  
"Three weeks," Devon said sadly.  
  
"Yeah! Meaning you have a lot of essays to make up!" James said happily.  
  
"Shut up," Marissa said as she closed her eyes. Her mind wandered as someone swam into her head: Leila.  
  
"Oh my God! The game!" she yelled. Marissa looked expectantly at her friends, who all looked disappointed. "No!"  
  
"Mar-"Sirius started.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Mar-"James started, too.  
  
"No! I'm so sorry! Oh gosh, no!"  
  
"MARISSA!" Lily yelled. Marissa looked at Lily angrily.  
  
"What?" she snapped.  
  
"Look in your right hand," Lily said smiling.  
  
Marissa looked down to see her hand clasped around a tiny golden snitch.  
  
"The nurse couldn't pry it from your fingers," James laughed.  
  
"No way?" Marissa said, thinking it was a dream.  
  
"Yes way!" Remus said. "You caught it right when the bludger hit your head."  
  
"Yeah, so this means the party is no longer postponed!" Sirius said, happily.  
  
"Postponed?" Marissa asked.  
  
"Yes, postponed," James said exasperatedly, "we couldn't have a celebration without the hero of the game!"  
  
Marissa smiled at her friends, grateful to have them by her side.

* * *

A/N: I hated that chapter. I know the LJ stuff was rushed and I know Devon's anger/sadness over Diggory was short-lived, but I wanted to keep the story going. Blah. Anyway, review! You all should know by now that they make me happy! :o)  
  
And thanks again to my two reviewers! Much appreciated! 


	8. Chapter seven

It's a Marauder's Thing

Yaay! Another reviewer! :o)  
  
Ninde Annare: Aw! Thanks for those encouraging words. In reference to the reviewers ... I don't mind all that much. I'll keep on writing even if I don't get more reviews. I'm happy to have 13 reviews! It's nice to see you review every chapter. Gives me more motivation to write. So thanks for always reviewing!  
  
Browneyedgirl2004: I hated that chapter because it was predictable. I feel like I'm just writing something that everyone has already read before (which in some cases, I am). But, I'm hoping to add more to it. To have it be known as more than just a regular 'ole L/J fic. Oh and I liked your new update! :o)  
  
Marauder4eva: Yay! A new reviewer! :o) lol ... More pranks? Aww man! You're asking a lot from me! Do you realize how long it took for me to think that Berti Bott's thing up? A while. Lol. But, I'll try. Your pranks are good!  
  
Now! On with the story!!

* * *

Chapter seven: What are Friends For?  
  
A week later, Marissa walked out of the hospital wing, dreading the pile of homework she had acquired over the past several weeks while unconscious. It was a Saturday morning, so she knew she could find her friends either under the tree by the lake, or in the common room, trying to get away from the bookworms of the group: Remus and Lily. She walked to the courtyard but couldn't see them anywhere, she sighed, regretting having to walk all that way. She stopped in front of the Fat Lady, remembering that she didn't know the password.  
  
"Damn," she muttered.  
  
"Nope! Sorry! That is NOT the password!" the Fat Lady said merrily.  
  
"Oh bugger off!" she snapped, pacing in front of the portrait, waiting for someone to help her.  
  
"Marissa!" Lily yelled, running up to her, giving her a big hug.  
  
"Good heavens! THAT is not the password either, young lady!" the Fat lady said.  
  
Lily sighed. "She's had too many drinks with her friend, Violet," she told Marissa. At this, the Fat Lady looked scandalized.  
  
"Why you little..." she started, narrowing her eyes at Lily.  
  
"Periwinkle!" Lily said quickly.  
  
"Periwinkle?" Marissa asked Lily as they crawled through the portrait hole.  
  
"Yep," Lily said, leading her over to the fireplace.  
  
Everyone welcomed Marissa back as she sat down.  
  
"So, how much homework do I have to make up?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"Tons," Sirius said immediately.  
  
"Loads!" James added.  
  
"Oh shut up you two!" Devon said, rolling her eyes. "You've been excused."  
  
"Really? That's great!" Marissa cried.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sirius said, waving it off, "so when are we going to have this party?"

* * *

Homework had been piling up for the sixth years. Essays upon essays were assigned for them, in 'preparation for N.E.W.T.'s'. It was two weeks until the Christmas Ball and the teachers were not giving in. The Ball was to take place the night before the start of Christmas vacation. This time, everyone took Lily and Remus' lead and at least started their essays the night they were assigned.  
  
Lily and Devon were walking across the lawn one afternoon, talking about the Ball when they noticed a small crowd forming in the courtyard. People were talking excitedly as if something really entertaining was happening. Lily and Devon exchanged significant glances, knowing what they would find. As they got closer, they saw James and Snape in the middle of the circle, each looking like they would like nothing else than the other person to drop dead right then and there.  
  
"So, Snivellus, think you can take me?" James taunted.  
  
"You're so confident that nothing will ever happen to you, Potter," Snape said coolly. "It's like you think you're invincible. You're not. I know more than you think I do, Potter."  
  
Devon and Lily looked at James. He was shaking with anger.  
  
Devon looked scared, "I've never seen him this mad, Lily."  
  
"How dare you!" James said coldly, advancing on Snape. With a flash of light, Snape was on the ground.  
  
"Expelliarmus!" James shouted. Snape's wand flew ten feet in the air, landing right in front of Lily's feet.  
  
Snape was attempting to get up. "Impedimenta!" James yelled, causing Snape to fall on his back, unable to move.  
  
Numerous curses were coming out of Snape's mouth.  
  
James raised his wand to cast another hex on Snape.  
  
"Stop it right now, Potter!"  
  
James wheeled around and saw Lily standing there. Her face was contorted with a mixture of emotions. Disappointment and anger were coursing through her blood as she stood there. James knew immediately he went too far.  
  
"I thought you had changed from last year, Potter," Lily said viciously, causing James to take a few steps back from her. "This summer you were different. You had changed. Or at least I thought you did."  
  
"Lil," James started, but was silenced by a look from his sister, Devon.  
  
"Let her talk, you deserve it," Devon said, her eyebrows raised at him.  
  
"You've been horrible for the past five years," she began again, "not only to him, but to other students. If a first year got in your way, 'rictusempra'. If someone mouthed off to you, 'wash your mouth, scourgify!' Well you want to know something, Potter? I'm sick and tired of seeing you torment every bloody kid in this school!" she yelled. "You're not better than them like you think you are - you're actually worse. Every person you hex is ten times the person you are!"  
  
James was staggered by her words. Sure he had received many of those lectures from Devon or Professor McGonagall, but no one could make the words sting so much as Lily Evans.  
  
Lily picked up Snape's wand and threw it at Snape. He caught it, with a smirk on his face as he got up. She turned on her heel and swept away from the commotion. Devon took one last look of disgust at her brother, before running after Lily.  
  
"Aw, poor Potter," Snape said maliciously, smirking at him, before walking away.  
  
James stood there feeling humiliated and terrible. He knew that he shouldn't have lost his temper. Especially since he and Lily were actually starting to become friends. 'Not anymore', James sighed. The crowd dispersed from around him, muttering under their breaths. James heaved a huge sigh again as he walked slowly back to the common room, knowing he had changed everything.

* * *

That night in the common room, the group was separated, like it had been for the first 5 years at Hogwarts. The girls on one side of the room and the Marauder's on the other. This was the first year that they had really been hanging out together. Their distance those five years had been mostly because of Lily's animosity towards James. But when that was mended over the summer, things changed, and they all became friends. Now, thanks to James' stupidity, they were apart again.  
  
Addy was torn between the two groups. On one hand, she had her best friends, on the other she had Remus, who she had been secretly going out with since the Halloween Ball. When she had said yes to him, Remus had every intention of telling his friends, but when everything happened with Devon and Amos that night, those thoughts went right out of the window. Of course, they had plenty of time after that night to tell everyone, but they wanted to tell EVERYONE. But Marissa had been in the hospital wing. Now that this had happened and James had screwed up again, in Remus' mind, their news would have to wait a while.  
  
A few days later, Lily, Devon, Ashley, and Marissa were eating breakfast, chatting away merrily. Addy was up in Gryffindor Tower still getting ready. James cast a few small glances Lily's way, before returning to his bowl of porridge. A screech was heard from above, as the morning post arrived. Hundreds of owls poured into the Hall, dropping letters and gifts to their owners.  
  
Lily looked up for her owl. She caught the letter in her hand. It was the Daily Prophet, with a letter attached to it.  
  
She opened the Daily Prophet first. She always enjoyed reading the headlines on the front page, but as she was taking a drink, her eyes skimming the paper, she dropped her goblet on the table with a loud clunk! Pumpkin juice was pouring over the edge of the table into Lily's lap, but she didn't seem to notice.  
  
Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she read over the article.  
  
"Lil?" Devon asked from next to her. She looked over her shoulder and gasped.  
  
The headline read:  
  
"HUNDREDS OF MUGGLES KILLED! DEATH EATERS BELIEVED TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEATHS!"  
  
Devon looked up from the paper over to the Slytherin table. Lucius, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Severus had their heads together and were casting frequent glances around the Hall.  
  
As Devon went to read more, she saw Lily quickly unraveling the letter that was attached to the Prophet.  
  
She watched Lily skim the letter, her eyes becoming red, and enormous tears were threatening to drop from her eyes.  
  
"Lil? Lily?" Devon prodded softly. Marissa and Ashley looked up to see what was wrong as Lily finally broke down. When Devon started to ask what was wrong, Lily ran from the Hall. She snatched the letter from the table and read:  
  
Dear Lily Evans:  
  
Yesterday there was a mass killing of muggles in Surrey. Three hundred muggles were killed. I am deeply sorry to inform you that your mother, Kim Evans, was among those killed. Please accept the Ministry's deepest regrets.  
  
Maureen Lingers  
  
Head of Department of Muggle Relations  
  
Devon gasped as she handed the note over to her friends. They read the note and looked fearfully up at Devon.  
  
"Come on, we have to find her," Devon said desperately, getting up.  
  
"Whoa, Dev, where are you going?" James said, grabbing her arm.  
  
"Read the Daily Prophet!" she said, as she yanked her arm away from her brother. Devon cast a look towards the Slytherins again, who were watching her closely. When she met Bella's eyes, Bella smiled evilly while Lucius was shaking with mirth. Devon shook her head, her stomach feeling nauseous as she mouthed a particularly nasty phrase to them.

* * *

Lily ran and ran, until she couldn't run anymore. She hunched over, gasping for air from exhaustion. She didn't know where she was, all she knew was that she was away from them, away from everyone. She sat down in a corner, wrapping her arms around her legs as she quietly cried. Numerous memories swept through her mind as she sat there sobbing. Her eighth birthday when her mom got her her first training bra. She was so embarrassed when her friend, Michael, found it in her drawer. As soon as that memory had started, another took its place. She was sitting down at breakfast with her mum, dad, and 'Pet'. It was back when her and Petunia were inseparable. They were laughing about nonsense things when a letter flew in the window and settled itself in front of Lily: her Hogwarts letter. Lily's tears intensified as she remembered how proud her mum had been when she read the letter. But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone coming down the hall, but she didn't care – she wanted to sit there immersed in the memories she had, which were lingering in her mind, longing to be remembered.  
  
"Lil?"  
  
"Go away," she sniffed.  
  
"Lil, I can't," Devon said as she sat next to Lily wrapping her arms around her best friend in a hug. "We can't leave you alone. What kind of friends would we be?"  
  
"I can't believe she's gone!" Lily wailed into Dev's shoulder. "She was my best friend and I lost her! Now I only have my dad." She stopped. "Daddy. Oh my gosh, Devon, he must be devastated!" Lily started to cry again, this time much louder. Devon sat there, feeling completely helpless. She looked at Marissa and Ashley, pleading with them to help her. Her parents didn't die, so she couldn't relate to Lily's situation. As she looked into Marissa and Ashley's eyes, she saw the same myriad of emotions that she felt in her stomach. She was sad. Sad because her best friend's mother was ripped away from her so suddenly. Angry. She felt bitter anger coursing through her blood as she thought of Bella and Lucius' glee in Lily's predicament. And no matter how bad she felt about it, she felt glad. Devon couldn't imagine losing her parent's so suddenly. It was unthinkable. She was glad that it wasn't her parents. But that didn't stop her from crying with Lily. Devon opened her mouth to utter comforting words to her friend when Addy's soft voice interrupted her.  
  
"Lils?"  
  
Lily looked up to see Addy standing there, holding the same type of letter she got, with tears streaking down her face.  
  
"No," Lily breathed, disbelievingly, shaking her head.  
  
Addy glanced down at her feet, not saying anything. Silent tears dropped from her cheeks, soaking the stone floor.  
  
Lily quickly got up and embraced Addy. Marissa, Devon, and Ashley stood there, watching two of their best friends, crying into each other's shoulders. They looked at each other before rushing forward and closing their arms around Addy and Lily. All five girls were crying, embracing each other, willing themselves to not let each other go. Addy felt safe within her friend's embrace. She believed that if they let go now, that she would fall into the dark abyss that was ever so close to taking over.  
  
As they separated, Devon looked between Lily and Addy. "We're going to be here for you two - no matter what. We're all sisters and nothing will ever change that. We love you to death and we will never ever abandon you!" she said tearfully. Marissa and Ashley nodded their agreement solemnly.  
  
Lily and Addy started crying harder as they walked over to her, hugging her and grabbing Marissa and Ashley into the hug.  
  
"Let's go," Ashley said, putting her arm around Lily's shoulder, letting Lily lean her head on her shoulder as they walked up to the common room.

* * *

"I can't believe it," James said, sitting with Sirius and Peter in front of the fire. The whole common room was completely subdued due to the fact that out of all four houses, the Gryffindor's were hit the hardest by yesterday's attacks.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius agreed solemnly, "poor Lily and Addy."  
  
"Where's Moony?" Peter asked, staring into the fire.  
  
"Where else?" James said numbly. "Comforting Addy, of course." Remus had told Sirius, Peter, and James about him and Addy when he heard the news.  
  
Sirius scanned the room, taking in the sight. A few first years were talking quietly in the corner, while some fifth years abandoned their O.W.L. practice tests. The girls were nowhere to be found. 'Probably up in their dorm with Moony,' Sirius thought. Sirius looked at James. He knew what was going on in his head. James wanted desperately to comfort Lily. He felt so bad about their fight, knowing that if he hadn't been so stupid about Snape, he could very well be upstairs whispering to Lily that 'everything would be ok'.  
  
But would it? Three hundred muggles were killed. Sure there had been a few killings here and there, but nothing to this magnitude. James knew that things were starting to go steeply downhill with the new attack. No one was safe. Not if you were of muggle-decent or you were a pureblood who associated with muggles. In other words, almost every Slytherin was safe from the wrath of this new threat: Voldemort. Lord Voldemort had just risen to a new height of power and fear. His hands were stained with the blood of so many lives that almost every single person in the wizarding world feared to speak his name. James heard many substitutes for 'Voldemort'; like 'you- know-who' or 'he-who-must-not-be-named'. A bit ridiculous if you asked him. He remembered his parents talking one night in the summer of his fifth year. He and Devon had been told to go upstairs, but they had a different idea. They hid behind a wall, listening intently to their parents' hushed conversation.  
  
Flashback  
  
"Malfoy approached me again, today," Mr. Potter had said softly.  
  
Mrs. Potter gasped. "What'd he say?" she asked fearfully.  
  
"He wanted to know if he should add us to the list," he said, looking away from his wife.  
  
"The list?" she asked nervously.  
  
"Darling, he wants us to join with him," Mr. Potter said finally.  
  
"With ... him?" she repeated. "No! Never!" she shouted.  
  
"Honey! Shh! The kids!" he said earnestly, walking over to his wife and pulling her into a soft and comforting hug.  
  
At that point in the conversation, James beckoned to Devon to follow him back to his room. They agreed to never mention what they heard to their parents, ever.  
  
End flashback  
  
"Prongs?"  
  
"What?" James started, coming out of his daze.  
  
"I'm going to bed," Sirius said, stretching.  
  
"Alright."  
  
"You going to be okay?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Me? Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just not so sure about Lily and Addy," James said, not taking his eyes off the dancing flames of the fire.  
  
Sirius nodded, looking away from James, sighing. "They'll be okay sooner or later. They're strong girls. I just wish I knew exactly who did it."  
  
"Why?" Peter asked, turning his gaze to Sirius.  
  
"Because when I find out who did it," Sirius said resentfully, "they'll be extremely sorry they ever touched those people."  
  
Peter nodded numbly, returning his gaze to the fireplace. 'I guess that party is off,' he thought, miserably.

* * *

Okay, finally done. I'm half-way done with chapter eight, I'll try to have it up within the next week! Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always nice! Even flames! I can handle 'em! 

Wotchertonks


	9. Response to my Reviewers

Wee! Two great reviews! Wooo! I luv y'all!!! :-D  
  
Browneyedgirl2004: I'm really glad you liked my chapter. I wanted to write this since I didn't have anyway to directly contact you. I'm sorry if it seems that I'm going in the same direction that you are. I've had this chapter written for about two months now, so I didn't intentionally make this chapter so similar to yours. I feel bad now. I didn't do it on purpose, so please don't think that. I do remember that this is my fanfic, and I intend to keep it that way. :o) I hope my way of having James help Lily is different enough from yours. It seemed so fitting for James to help her out of this (I'm sure you'll agree wink). Thanks for the extremely long review. It definitely makes up for the lack of reviews (doesn't mean I'm not appreciative of everyone's reviews ... that'd be stupid of me). But thanks a lot for always reviewing and for bringing the similarities to my attention. I'm glad you mentioned it to me. I'll definitely have to make it up to you. Oh and my updates won't be TOO far apart. I already have chapter 9 and 10 written, I just have to edit them. Chapter eight is proving to be the tough one because of Addy and Lily's situation. Sooo, as soon as I get that one done, I'll put it up. Thanks again!  
  
Ninde Annare: "A loss for words"? oooo ... You're so nice! :-D I could say the same for yours! Thanks for reviewing! Anyway, wow, two GREAT reviews! :-D :-D I'm a happy camper! Woo! Okay, now I'm really motivated to complete chapter eight. 


	10. Chapter eight

* * *

It's a Marauder's Thing  
Warning: This chapter contains some disturbing memories. Oh yeah, and it's really long (12 pages on MS Word). smiles sheepishly

* * *

Chapter eight: Endless Sorrow  
  
The next few days passed slowly and quietly. The Christmas Ball was in four more days and not many people seemed to be in the mood, except of course a few Slytherins. Since the attack happened so close to the Christmas holiday, the students weren't allowed to leave school to visit their relatives until the original date of departure. This was not Professor Dumbledore's choice. The Ministry of Magic declared this a few days after the attack, saying that it would be pointless for the students to return home so close to their break. The Ministry's point of view was challenged a great deal and many students were forcefully taken from the school by their parent's whether the Ministry liked it or not. Dumbledore quickly obliged the parent's wishes, ignoring the Minister's frequent disagreements with this.  
  
Sirius walked down the boy's staircase into the common room. It was only six o'clock in the morning, but he couldn't sleep. He sat down in front of the fireplace, watching the embers slowly burn down to nothing. He thought about the past few days. Sirius' thoughts landed on how distraught Lily and Addy were. Addy wasn't eating much. Marissa and Devon constantly dragged themselves into breakfast after having a bad night's sleep because Addy kept on having nightmares of how her parents were killed. Lily snapped at everyone around her. She immersed herself in her schoolwork every minute she wasn't in class in order to keep her mind off her mum. Sirius had a talk with Marissa, Devon, Ashley, James, and Remus about how worried he was about the girls. Everyone was mutually scared about how their two friends were falling apart at the seams. James was feeling exceptionally helpless because Lily wouldn't let him come anywhere near her. Sirius knew how much James wanted to help Lily, but she wouldn't let him in.  
  
Sirius then remembered the look on his cousin's faces when Lily and Addy walked by them in the halls. The very thought of the looks of triumph on their faces was enough to make him sick.  
  
Steps were heard behind him from the girl's staircase. He turned around and saw Marissa walking towards him. She looked horrible. Her hair was a tattered mess, while her shirt was hanging off one shoulder. Marissa looked exhausted. She sat down next to him and sighed.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, noticing the deep sigh he knew only too well. She didn't respond immediately. He could tell she was deciding whether or not she was in fact 'okay'.  
  
"No," she said finally.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, noticing her glazed over look.  
  
"She was screaming their names again," she said quietly.  
  
"Who?" Sirius asked, knowing it was either Addy or Lily.  
  
"Addy," Marissa replied, running her fingers through her hair distractedly. She gave up when her fingers got caught in the rat's nest that was her hair. "Ashley, Lily, and Dev are up there right now trying to calm her down."  
  
Sirius silently nodded as he felt his blood boil in anger at his cousin.  
  
"I know my parent's were involved in that attack." Tears started forming in her eyes.  
  
"What?" Sirius said, looking startled.  
  
"Oh come on, Sirius," she said impatiently. "Everyone knows where the Malfoy's loyalties lie and it's not with the Light side."  
  
"Oh," he said, feeling a bit stupid. Marissa rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but picture the attack in her mind. She was standing in an upscale suburban neighborhood. Houses were burning left and right. Chaos was taking over as blood curdling screams echoed in her ears. She saw a mass of black cloaked figures with their wands pointing upwards. Muggles were being dropped from one hundred and fifty feet in the hair, landing on the cement with a sickening crash. Every 'smack' she heard, she knew it was another innocent life gone to waste. Another mother, father, husband or wife yanked from their families so suddenly and mercilessly. This scene was what her parents and brother called 'blood cleansing'. It made her want to throw up.  
  
"Marissa?" Sirius prodded, seeing the tinge of green Marissa turned.  
  
"I know my parents killed innocent people," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "What makes it worse is that they enjoy it! They enjoy killing people, Sirius. My parents are murderers for that lunatic. My parents could've been the murderers of Lily's mum or Addy's parents. You know how much that kills me to know that my parents are responsible for my best friends' grief? My idiot brother is following in their footsteps and I can't help but wonder: if I had been sorted into Slytherin, would I do the same?" At this, Sirius snapped out of his trance.  
  
"Don't talk like that, Mar," he said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. "The fact is: is that you were not sorted into Slytherin! Even if you were, I don't believe that you would do that. You don't have it in you!"  
  
"That's what my family says," she sniffed. "They see it as a weakness." Sirius watched as a normally calm and collected Marissa looked ready to jump over a cliff.  
  
"I see it as one of your biggest strengths," he said, cupping her chin turning her face to look at him.  
  
"Really?" she said, tears spilling over onto her cheeks.  
  
"Really," he said, smiling.  
  
Marissa sat there, looking into Sirius' dark eyes, wondering why on earth he was being this supportive of her. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable squirm, making her look away from him, biting her lower lip.  
  
'No!' she thought, scolding herself. 'Don't fall for him! Don't do it! Especially not at a time like this, you idiot!'  
  
"Here, let's get you back to bed," he said soothingly. Sirius stood up, offering her his hand. She gladly took it, as she stood up, still sniffling. Sirius walked her back upstairs to her bed. She sat down on her bed, sleepiness coming over her.  
  
"Get some sleep," he said softly. "You don't have to be up for another hour and a half."  
  
Marissa lay her head down on her pillow and watched him back out of the room, winking at her, and then shutting the door. She felt slightly better, but not enough to calm the ominous feeling in her stomach. She fell into an uneasy sleep, thinking about the innocent lives that her parents took, knowing that they wanted her to do that when she grew 'of age'.

* * *

Christmas holiday was coming ever so close. A few days before the Ball, Professor Dumbledore announced to a subdued student body, that he was canceling the Christmas Ball, in light of recent events, and instead, putting together a candlelight vigil for the students who lost a family member.  
  
Fights were constantly breaking out in the middle of the hallways. Angry students were lashing out at the Slytherins who were known to be tied to the Dark side. To the Gryffindor's savage satisfaction, a fifth-year Hufflepuff put sixth year Bellatrix Black and seventh year Lucius Malfoy in the hospital wing, with painful boils on every inch of their bodies. Lily put Severus Snape in the hospital wing one afternoon, after she heard him scoffing at the fact that three hundred muggles were killed. Everyone heard him complaining about invisible needles poking him all over his body after his encounter with Lily.  
  
James felt proud of Lily for doing that. He knew that she felt a certain vindictive pleasure about putting him in the hospital. It was like exacting revenge for her mother. None of the teachers really punished the students for doing those things. Of course, they were punished, but not severely. Lily told everyone that she had fifteen points taken off of Gryffindor and one night of detention, writing lines. Eventually, certain Slytherins had to be escorted to class by a teacher, in order to protect their wellbeing.  
  
Lily was still keeping her careful distance from James, much to his dismay. He told his sister that he was coming with them to the vigil. She cautioned him to keep his temper in check if any Slytherins decided to show up.

* * *

The candlelight vigil took place the night before the train left for Christmas Break. Almost the whole school attended. Candles were floating everywhere, with pictures of the victims placed all over the Hall. As Lily and Addy walked into the Hall, arms linked, they saw a sea of black-cloaked students mixed with the soft glow of the levitated candles. Remus was holding on to Addy's spare hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze as both girls stopped on the threshold. He lent down a whispered in her ear, "Addy, you can do this. Do this for your parents." Addy hesitated, scared of seeing her dead parent's faces. She nodded as she pulled Lily along with her.  
  
As soon as the girls saw the pictures, their tears doubled. Lily turned away from Addy and lent her head on the nearest shoulder. A warm embrace welcomed her as she cried softly, not wanting to accept the reality of her mum being gone.  
  
"Shh, Lily, it's okay. Everything will be okay." She looked up and saw James looking softly down at her. As soon as she saw the concern in his eyes, every fight they had went flying out the window right then and there. She hugged him fiercely in return, burying her face into his chest.  
  
"Oh God, James, she can't be gone, she just can't!"  
  
James put his hand through her thick red hair, stroking it as he whispered in her ear. James glanced over Lily's head, at Addy and Remus. Remus looked so helpless. He was crying as well, holding onto Addy. "He knows what it's like to lose both parents. He'll be able to comfort her better,' James thought as Remus broke away from the hug and whispered something in her ear. Addy nodded, slipping her hand into his, walking away into the crowd.  
  
"I want to see her," Lily said, her head tilted downwards. He nodded in response, carefully grabbing her hand to lead her through the crowd. Lily tensed slightly when he slipped his hand into hers, but relaxed as Devon gave her an encouraging nod. James looked back at Sirius, Marissa, Devon and Ashley, who were all standing awkwardly away from the scene. James stopped, looking guiltily towards his friends, whom he knew wanted to comfort the girls also.  
  
"Go, James," Devon said encouragingly. "She needs you!" James nodded as he followed Lily into the crowd. It took a while to get through the crowd. Many fellow students stopped Lily and spoke in hushed voices. James felt uncomfortable being there. He felt like an intruder, like he was barging in on everyone's grief. As soon as Lily was able to shake off the last person, she looked back at James, her eyes red and puffy. He gave her a reassuring smile, urging her to go forward. Lily nodded as she held onto James' hand. They soon found her mum's picture. Her mum had strawberry blond hair and had the same green eyes that Lily had. It was a magical picture, so she was waving and smiling at Lily. James shied away from Lily as she watched her mum waving back at her merrily.  
  
"James, please stay," she pleaded. He nodded as he walked back to her and stood behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders letting her know that he was there.

* * *

"If you ever need to talk, just owl me over break," Devon told Lily as she broke away from their hug at King's Cross. She nodded silently, giving Devon a small smile before turning away and running to her father who was waiting for her with Petunia. Devon watched her hug her father tightly before turning to Petunia awkwardly. Petunia looked coldly at Lily, before allowing Lily to hug her, too.  
  
Devon returned to the small group waiting for her. James, Ashley, Marissa, and Sirius were standing patiently aside, waiting for Devon and Remus to bid their goodbye's. They were all going to stay at the Potter mansion over Christmas Break. Remus walked back over to the group after he kissed Addy goodbye, telling her to owl him if she needed anything.  
  
Peter was absent from the group, as his mother immediately brought him home a few days after the attack. The Marauder's had always laughed about how overprotective she was over him, but it was understandable. Peter's dad died when Peter was only a toddler, leaving his mother to be a single parent.  
  
The Gryffindor's watched as Addy and her Aunt and Uncle left the station, right behind Lily, Petunia, and their father. As soon as they were out of sight, they followed the Potter's to the apparition point.

* * *

The car ride back to the Evans' house was a silent one. At the beginning, Lily tried to comfort her father, but was cut off by Petunia, who quickly told her to not talk about her 'abnormality' in front of her. Lily silently cried in the backseat as they pulled up to their house in Surrey. As soon as she was in the house, her dad helped her bring her trunk upstairs to her bedroom. On their way to her bedroom, they passed her parent's bedroom. She paused outside of the door, setting down her end of the trunk and walked into the room, sitting down on her mother's side of the bed. She silently caressed the flower bedspread as she reminisced of all the times that she'd crawl into bed, in the middle of the night, with her parents after she had a nightmare. Her father followed her, sitting next to her on the bed. She picked up the picture frame that was sitting next to the lamp on her mother's bedside table. It was a picture of her mother, pushing two kids in their swings. One was a fiery red head, while the other was a blonde. They were all laughing, or giggling in Lily and Petunia's case, having a great time.  
  
Lily's tears started anew as she looked at the picture which was labeled at the top "Mummy's little girls". Lily stared at her mum's carefree countenance. She remembered her dad taking that picture. It was when Lily was five years old and Petunia was six. It was Christmas morning and Lily and Petunia woke up to a new playset in the backyard, complete with a sandbox. Lily let a small laugh escape as she remembered her mum having to help her into the swing.  
  
"It's not your fault," her father whispered, pulling her towards him. "I know Pet is mad and indifferent at you right now, but it's not your fault."  
  
Lily nodded setting down the picture as she got up. "Let's get this into my room," she said, pointing to her trunk in the middle of the hallway.  
  
Lily's Christmas holiday passed solemnly. It was her first Christmas without her mum and as they sat opening presents at the Christmas tree, Lily paused at a gift that said, "To my Lily Flower, Love mum". Lily slowly opened it, knowing this was the last Christmas gift she would ever get from her mum. A hook was wrenching at her heart as she opened the box, a gold chain was revealed with a gold locket. A note was inside:  
  
_My Dearest Lily Flower, _

_Happy Christmas! I love you with all my heart! This was my locket when I was your age. I was told to pass it down to my youngest daughter. When you're at school and you feel lost and alone, open this and you will be reminded of how much you are loved at home. I love you Lily Flower! We are so proud of you!  
  
Love, Mum  
_  
Lily slowly put the chain around her neck, a small smile tugging at her lips. She opened the locket to reveal a picture of her on the left side looking at something to the right. The right side showed a picture of her mum, looking to the left. They were looking at each other, smiling as if they didn't have a care in the world.  
  
'So much is different now, mum,' Lily thought as she closed the locket.  
  
The rest of Lily's holiday was pure hell. The funeral was really hard for her. The rest of her family didn't know about where she went every school year, so it was harder to talk to them. They were told that her mum died from a terrorist's car bomb. Her Aunts and Uncles were really supportive of her, but couldn't understand why their darling Petunia was so hostile to Lily. They encouraged Lily to try to move on, despite her sister's resentment, remembering that her 'mum was in a better place' and is 'always looking down on her'.  
  
Petunia constantly lashed out at Lily while their father wasn't at home. But nothing compared to the last day of the break, when Lily was packing. She had just put the last of her books into her trunk when Petunia walked into her room.  
  
"Finally, I thought you'd never leave," Petunia said nastily.  
  
"Go _away_," Lily said, not giving her sister the satisfaction of knowing that she was tearing Lily apart inside.  
  
"You know, I always thought that you would be the one to suffer for your abnormality," Petunia continued. "But I was clearly wrong. Your freakish ways have now spread to mum. It was your kind who killed her. I know, Lily. They blamed it on a car bomb, but I know better. I saw the bodies on the TV," she paused, "their eyes were wide open, no expression on their faces. I remembered a few years back when I snuck a look at one of your books. It said that that's what would happen to someone who was killed by your kind. You did this to her! _YOU_!"  
  
"Stop it!" Lily yelled, her wand pointing at her sister. "You shut your bloody mouth now!"  
  
Petunia stood rooted on the spot, her eyes darting from the wand to Lily.  
  
"You're not allowed," Petunia said fearfully.  
  
"No, I'm not," Lily said poisonously, "but that doesn't mean I won't."  
  
Petunia's eyes were as wide as saucers.  
  
"Get ... out," Lily said, anger filling her voice. Petunia ran from the room, slamming her bedroom door shut.  
  
As soon as Petunia left, Lily collapsed on her bed, crying. She never understood why her sister hated her so much. Why did her sister hold so much animosity towards her, especially at a time like this? Lily Evans cried herself to sleep that night, for the second week in a row.

* * *

Not much was happening at the Potter's Mansion. Everyone was worried about how Lily and Addy were doing. Devon had received an owl from Lily, a week into the break, telling everyone she was doing better, but that her sister was giving her a hard time. When she had read that part, she muttered "stuck up bitch" (Petunia). Addy owled frequently to Remus, saying that her Aunt and Uncle were taking her in, just as Remus' aunt and uncle had with him.  
  
"They're strong, they'll be okay," Sirius said, as he sat down on the couch.  
  
"Yeah," James agreed. It was the last day of their break and they were sitting in the living area of the house. They hadn't done much during their Break, except for play Exploding Snap or Gobstones.  
  
Sirius, knowing that they needed to do something, suggested a good game of Quidditch. At first Marissa got angry at him for 'thinking about nothing else but Quidditch'. But she soon agreed when Ashley said that they couldn't just sit around forever.

* * *

"Addy, dear, come downstairs please!" called her Aunt June.  
  
"Coming," she said, as she pulled on her robe. When she woke up that morning, it took her a full fifteen minutes to realize that her parent's wouldn't be sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper while drink their coffee.  
  
"Breakfast is ready," Aunt June said.  
  
"'Kay," she said, as she sat down at the table.  
  
"Look, honey, I know it's going to be hard, but Uncle Joe and I will be here for you," she said, reaching across the table to pat her hand.  
  
Addy nodded numbly, as she picked at her eggs. A few days before she was to return to school, they had the funeral for her parents. It was a small, private funeral. Her Aunt June told everyone that she was taking it surprisingly well. Of course she was angry, hurt, and lonely, but she was adjusting better than she had thought. She had always been close to her Aunt June and Uncle Joe as they were her Godparents and they frequently visited her when her parents were alive. She still missed her parents, but she knew that they wouldn't want her to be depressed for a while. So she decided that it was best to mourn their deaths at the funeral then try to get on with her life, keeping her parent's memories sacred in her heart.

* * *

"All aboard!" The scarlet steam engine was shining in the sunlight from the glistening dew on its body.  
  
Lily and Addy's families both met up at the train station. Their parent's had been good friends with each other since first year, so there was no reason, in Tim Evans' opinion, to let that go to waste. He introduced himself to Addy's Aunt and Uncle. The two families exchanged condolences before letting Addy and Lily walk through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾.  
  
The two girls found an empty compartment and waited for the rest of their friends. The gloomy compartment was soon filled with their friends, who silently sat down, and talked in hushed voices.  
  
"How are you doing?" Ashley asked, sitting next to Lily.  
  
Addy gave them a weak smile as she looked out the window.  
  
"As good as we could ever be," Lily sighed.  
  
"Listen, we know that you both have been through an enormous loss," Marissa began. Lily and Addy looked at each other, both coming to the same conclusion: they practiced this speech over break. "We want you to know that we will all be here for you. Things will be rough, we know, and we are prepared to go through those tough times with you."  
  
Lily smiled gratefully at Marissa as she said this, nodding her head showing she understood. Lily looked at James and saw something she never thought she'd see: compassion. She smiled sadly at him, before turning her gaze back out the window.  
  
Lily and Addy listened to their friends talk on the train ride back to Hogwarts. James and Sirius played a rousing game of Exploding Snap, each exclaiming loud profanities at each other when the cards exploded to try and cheer the girls up. To their immense satisfaction, they saw a small smile playing at the corners of Lily's lips. The train ride was going relatively smoothly until the compartment door opened. Marissa looked up at the disruption to see her brother, Lucius, and the rest of his gang standing on the threshold.  
  
"Well, if it isn't the blood traitors and _mudbloods_?" he said, smirking.  
  
"Get the hell out of here now, Malfoy," James snarled, standing up.  
  
"Why? We just came by to see how the two mudbloods are doing," Lucius said, stepping into the compartment. Bellatrix let out a shrill laugh that sent shivers up everyone's spine.  
  
Marissa stood up and placed herself right in Lucius' path.  
  
"You heard him. Get out!" she said, acidly.  
  
"You know, Marissa," Narcissa started, walking up behind her boyfriend, "I've always wondered about you."  
  
"Oh really? And why would that be?" Marissa spat.  
  
"You're a pureblood. Yet, you hang around with riffraff like Evans and O'Connor," she said, indicating Lily and Addy. "You would think that after that attack, you'd realize where your loyalties should lie."  
  
"That's it!" Marissa yelled, taking out her wand. "_Cerrario_!"  
  
Narcissa staggered back clutching her mouth. Everyone watched as her mouth slowly closed to where she couldn't open it.  
  
"Maybe that will teach you to shut your bloody mouth, bitch!" Marissa shouted, pointing her wand towards her brother. By that time everyone had their wand out pointing to a different person. Spells and curses were being sent this way and that, rebounding off the walls and shattering the windows.  
  
"What's going on here?" yelled someone out in the hall. Melissa Anderson, the Head Girl pushed her way into the middle of the fight, which had stopped due to everyone being hit by a different spell.  
  
"What the hell ..." she began, but stopped at the sight of the Slytherins. Snape was frantically batting the air, trying to get the flying bogies from getting in his eyes. Narcissa was miming to her boyfriend who was lying on the floor, stiff as a board. Bellatrix was sporting a pig's snout and hooves for her hands and feet. Melissa burst out laughing, as she leaned on the wall for support. But she soon stopped when she saw an unconscious Lily and a bleeding Sirius.  
  
"Shit," she muttered as she pushed passed the Slytherins over to Lily and Sirius.  
  
Sirius pushed her hand out of his face. "Help Lily, I'm fine."  
  
"Enervate," Melissa said, pointing her wand at Lily's chest. Lily's eyes flickered open.  
  
"W-what happened?"  
  
"Lucius knocked you unconscious," James said.  
  
"Come on, let's get everyone off the train," Melissa said. After all that commotion the train had stopped and emptied, leaving the Slytherins and Gryffindors on the train alone.

* * *

"I am surprised at you!" bellowed a raving McGonagall. She and Professor Davis, the Head of Slytherin House, were standing before the students in her office, looking positively livid.  
  
"I have never been more disappointed in my students," Professor Davis said dangerously. "Explain. _Now_!"  
  
Everyone started speaking at once, causing the two Professors to cringe.  
  
"One at a time!" McGonagall screamed. "Malfoy, you first."  
  
"My pleasure," he said silkily. "Narcissa, Bella, Severus, and I were walking down the train to check on Evans and O'Connor. We were concerned after what happened last month. We walked in and they immediately started yelling at us!"  
  
"Bullshit," Sirius muttered under his breath.  
  
"Mr. Black, shut-your-mouth-NOW!" Professor Davis said.  
  
"We were getting ready to leave when my darling sister, Marissa, cursed Narcissa. And that's when everything broke loose," he finished, smirking at the Gryffindors. James was shaking with anger as he looked at Malfoy. He had never wanted to hurt someone as much as he did now.  
  
"Miss Evans," Davis said, "your version please."  
  
Lily sighed before retelling the events of that afternoon like Malfoy did. Except her version was the _accurate _version. She told how Malfoy called her and Addy mudbloods and how Narcissa taunted Marissa. Which was why Marissa cursed her.  
  
"I see," McGonagall said stiffly, skimming over the group. Lily blushed crimson as McGonagall's stare landed on her.  
  
"I would've expected much better behavior from you Miss Evans and Miss O'Connor. Considering what you both have just been through," she said, narrowing her eyes at them. "I'm very disappointed in ALL of you! Two hundred points will be deducted from Gryffindor for your lack of judgment. Ten points from Gryffindor for cursing, Mr. Black and a week's worth of detention for each of you."  
  
A soft sob was heard from Lily. She had never lost any points from Gryffindor in her life. She had also never gotten detention. That was always Devon's job.  
  
McGonagall then turned towards Professor Davis, waiting for the Slytherin's punishment.  
  
"The same goes for Slytherin," he said, glaring at his students. "Except an extra _fifty_ points from Slytherin for calling Miss O'Connor and Miss Evans that name, Mr. Malfoy."  
  
James then realized why Davis wasn't the Slytherin's favorite teacher. He didn't favor his house over the others, he was just as fair as McGonagall. James smirked, glad that Professor Davis had come to Hogwarts that year.  
  
"You're dismissed," McGonagall said. Everyone walked out of her room silently. But when the door closed, the Slytherins were fuming.  
  
"You're going to pay dearly for that," Lucius said dangerously. "I don't care if Davis is on your side, we're going to make you _personally_ pay!"

* * *

A week later, the Gryffindors stalked lazily into the Common Room, seriously regretting getting into that fight.  
  
"My bloody arms hurt!" Sirius complained, collapsing on the couch.  
  
"You should talk," Devon said, sitting next to him, massaging her arms.  
  
McGonagall had them scrubbing the Herbology greenhouses, from top to bottom. Sirius earned himself another detention when he smarted off to her.  
  
"So tell me why we're cleaning the greenhouses? I mean, don't they just get dirty **again** since there is a lot of SOIL in here?" he had said.  
  
They weren't very popular with the rest of the Gryffindors. Losing 200 hundred points caused them to fall back to third place.  
  
"At least the Slytherins are in fourth. Something that they've never been in centuries," Peter offered. Ravenclaw was in first, followed by Hufflepuff.  
  
"Shut up, Peter," Devon snapped. "That doesn't make us feel better."  
  
Peter sent a venomous glare towards Devon as he moodily went back to writing his Herbology essay.

* * *

Goodness, that chapter took me almost all afternoon to finish. Ugh. Thanks again to my reviewers! :o) Please let me know if there is anything wrong with the chapter or if you have a problem with it. Don't hesitate to e-mail me about it.  
  
Wotchertonks 


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